Iranian UN envoy proposed establishing a group of cross-regional countries to help end the conflict in Ukraine which marks its first anniversary on Friday.
Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) Amir Saeed Iravani made the remarks while addressing the UN General Assembly’s eleventh emergency special session on the Ukraine conflict on Thursday.
During the session, the UN General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution that calls for Russia to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”
The document was backed by 141 countries, while seven, including Russia, voted against it. A total of 32 UN members, including China and India, abstained.
The Iranian envoy said that Tehran “supports the idea of leveraging the Secretary General’s capacity, as mandated by the UN Charter, to establish a cross-regional group of independent, competent, impartial countries. The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to contribute to this process.”
“This can facilitate dialogue and help find a way out of the current impasse”, he added, as quoted by Mehr news agency.
Iravani stressed that Iran’s position with regard to the war in Ukraine has not changed.
“We are steadfast in our commitment to upholding the principles and purposes enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, including the principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States.”
“We urge all parties to fully comply with their obligation on the international humanitarian law including taking constant precautions to protect civilians and critical infrastructure and facilitating access to safe and unfettered access to humanitarian aid for those in need,” said the Iranian diplomat.
Noting that the ongoing conflict is “detrimental to both parties as neither can earn any long-term advantage”, he added that “it is crucial for all involved parties to abandon the military ambitions and prioritize finding a peaceful diplomatic resolution.”
Iravani also criticized the draft of the proposed resolution, saying, “unfortunately, the proposed text falls short of comprehensively and impartially addressing all aspects of the issue and fails to acknowledge the conditions and provocations that have contributed to the crisis.”
He noted that the actions and policies of certain sponsors of this resolution raise doubts about the political will to resolve the dispute peacefully.
Source: Iranian media
