New Delhi: In an emergency meeting called by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) amid growing tension between Russia-Ukraine, India voiced concern over the escalation and highlighted the safety of its citizens is of paramount importance.
UNSC open briefing session was called after Russia on Monday declared it would recognise two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
At the UNSC meeting on Ukraine, India’s permanent representative to the UN, TS Tirumurti said, diplomatic efforts should be intensified to ensure that a mutually amicable solution is arrived at the earliest.
India said that the escalation of tension along the border of Ukraine with Russia is a matter of deep concern. These developments have the potential to undermine the peace and security of the region.
“We call for restraint on all sides. We are convinced that this issue can only be resolved through diplomatic dialogue. We need to give space to recent initiatives undertaken by parties which seek to defuse tensions," Tirumurti said at the UNSC meeting.
“Safety and security of civilians are essential. More than 20,000 Indian students and nationals live and study in different parts of Ukraine, including in its border areas. The well-being of Indians is of priority to us,” Tirumurti added.
He further said: “We strongly emphasize the vital need for all sides to maintain international peace and security by exercising the utmost restraint and intensifying diplomatic efforts to ensure that a mutually amicable solution is arrived at the earliest.”
On Monday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced great concern over Russia's decision to recognise the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine as an independent, media reports said. He said that Moscow's decision is a violation" of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and inconsistent with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
The US strongly condemning the move said the decision represents a complete rejection" of Russia's commitments under the Minsk agreements, directly contradicts Russia's claimed commitment to diplomacy, and is a clear attack on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
According to a PTI report, US President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order that will prohibit all new investment, trade, and financing by US persons to, from, or in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics regions of Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.