‘We should never abandon the values that hold us together’ Lithuanian leader tells UN.
Dalia
Grybauskaite, President of the Republic of Lithuania, addresses the
general debate of the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly. UN
Photo/Amanda Voisard
Taking the podium of the General Assembly,
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitÿ today called on Member States to
adhere to the core values of the United Nations, whether in dealing
with terrorism in the Middle East or Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s
sovereignty.
“Our common task as a group of nations is to maintain undivided security - we have to put all our efforts to stop ISIS (The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) and al-Qaeda, to keep peace and security in Middle East, but the same efforts should be directed to manage the geopolitical challenges in Eastern Europe,” she declared on the third day of the Assembly’s annual high-level meeting.
“It is our duty to support peace, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The threat arising to Ukraine must be urgently tackled,” she said, noting that 100 States supported Ukraine in the General Assembly and condemned Russia’s occupation of Crimea, a vote that shows “we are still protecting the core values.”
Ms. Grybauskaitÿ called on the UN together with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union, other regional organisations and their member states to “fulfil their duty and do everything possible to stop armed conflicts, redrawing the borders of sovereign states and creating one frozen conflict after another.
“In avoidance of an even grimmer future, I invite you to stop deception, lies, manipulation and ignorance from entering our territories and violating our values,” she concluded. “We have to go back to the core principle of the United Nations of keeping peace throughout the world.”
un.
“Our common task as a group of nations is to maintain undivided security - we have to put all our efforts to stop ISIS (The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) and al-Qaeda, to keep peace and security in Middle East, but the same efforts should be directed to manage the geopolitical challenges in Eastern Europe,” she declared on the third day of the Assembly’s annual high-level meeting.
“It is our duty to support peace, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The threat arising to Ukraine must be urgently tackled,” she said, noting that 100 States supported Ukraine in the General Assembly and condemned Russia’s occupation of Crimea, a vote that shows “we are still protecting the core values.”
Ms. Grybauskaitÿ called on the UN together with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union, other regional organisations and their member states to “fulfil their duty and do everything possible to stop armed conflicts, redrawing the borders of sovereign states and creating one frozen conflict after another.
“In avoidance of an even grimmer future, I invite you to stop deception, lies, manipulation and ignorance from entering our territories and violating our values,” she concluded. “We have to go back to the core principle of the United Nations of keeping peace throughout the world.”
un.
