Kyiv – Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk started his official visit to the US on September 24, during which he will participate in the 69th session of the UN General Assembly. However, at this representative event, the head of government will only be able to remind the global community of the unacceptability of Russia’s aggressive policies regarding Ukraine, noted former Minister of Foreign Affairs Volodymyr Ohryzko in an interview with Radio Liberty. According to him, the UN is a paralyzed structure which is more capable of words than actions.
It is unlikely the UN will be able to assist us with anything practical or real, thinks Ukrainian diplomat, former head of the MFA Volodymyr Ohryzko. To his mind, the UN is only a forum to exchange opinions regarding world development, where there are more words than actions. This is characteristic of the UN Security Council, as well, though it is the main institution which is responsible for the issues of peace and security, Ohryzko says.
“Because, unfortunately, its permanent members include one country which not only disregards statute obligations but violates them. This is why today both the OSCE and the UN are paralyzed structures, which can only draw conclusions. Best case scenario, they can agree on some observer missions. However they are unable to act practically in any way. Therefore, I think that our Prime Minister’s visit will be used only in order to make Ukraine’s position clear to the world public. However, there are no chances of counting on any practical steps in support of Ukraine,” the expert says.
“I don’t think the UN General Assembly with bring about a breakthrough”
Meanwhile the UN General Assembly is a space where heads of state and government hold a big number of bilateral meeting, as it is convenient, as they don’t need to organize visits, notes Volodymyr Ohryzko. Therefore, the Prime Minister will have a number of meetings to discuss with the most important partners a number of relevant issues, the expert notes.
“This will simply give the possibility to confirm the bilateral obligations we already have, or they have to us. But I don’t think it will be a breakthrough of any sort, as all European Union member countries understand what is happening. The US, Canada, Japan, Australia and others understand what is happening. Will we be able to convince, say, Argentina or China? I have great doubts here, as the position has already been determined, and it is unlikely to change,” Ohryzko thinks.
“It is important to point out that Russia’s actions are unacceptable”
Besides, it is also possible that during the bilateral meetings important issues will also be discussed, such as weaponry or financial aid, Volodymyr Ohryzko adds. To his mind, the majority of practical content, especially if we are dealing with Ukraine-US relations, will include events outside the UN General Assembly. In particular, Arseniy Yatseniuk plans to meet with the heads of American investment and financial institutions and NGO representatives, reminds the former head of the MFA.
“However, in the political sense, it is difficult to point out to the global community that Russia’s actions are unacceptable, condemn these actions and continue political work in order to form an international anti-Putin coalition. In case the global community does not comprehend the threat level, we may gradually come to face what humanity faced after the annex of Sudetenland and after Nazi Germany attacked Poland,” noted Volodymyr Ohryzko.
