Statement by Ambassador Jerry Matjila, Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations, during the Security Council Briefing on Ukraine, 20 May 2019
Mr President,
We have supported the request for this meeting on the basis of consistency, having acceded to requests from other delegations for briefings on matters, which they regard as urgent and important. We also support the meeting based on the fact that Ukraine is an agenda item of the Security Council; and also based on Rule 2 of the provisional rules of procedure providing for such a meeting.
Mr President,
With regard to the matter brought to the attention of this meeting today, South Africa continues to encourage all the parties to strengthen all diplomatic efforts to avoid an escalation of tensions, and work towards an inclusive, sustainable and peaceful solution based on cooperation and dialogue. We wish to encourage all parties to approach dialogue with the spirit of compromise in order to move the process forward.
My delegation would like to reiterate that the non-implementation of the existing agreements will unfortunately lead to unintended consequences.
In this regard, we wish to reiterate the obligation of all the parties to fully implement all of their respective commitments under the Minsk Agreements, which provide the most promising roadmap for the peaceful settlement of the current hostilities, including in eastern Ukraine, and to advance the cause of peace and stability in the broader region.
I thank you.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION
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