Statement delivered by Ambassador Mariangela Zappia, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations, at the General Assembly plenary meeting on the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine —
Mr. President,
Italy aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union.
Mr. President,
Italy recalls its unwavering support to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and independence of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. We remain deeply concerned by the crisis in and around Ukraine and by its impact on the stability and cooperation in Europe.
In line with the UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262, we condemn and do not recognize the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula and we reiterate our utmost concern for the ongoing militarization of the peninsula and its impact on the security situation in the Black Sea region and beyond.
We urge the full respect of international humanitarian and human rights’ law in the Crimean peninsula in line with UN General Assembly Resolutions 71/205, 72/190, 73/263 and 74/168, which Italy supported and cosponsored. Human rights observers and humanitarian actors should be granted full and unhindered access.
Mr. President,
Italy remains strongly committed to a sustainable political solution based on the Minsk Agreements and reaffirms its strong support for diplomatic efforts in the Normandy format, the OSCE and the Trilateral Contact Group.
We welcome the Summit in the Normandy Format held in Paris on 9th December 2019 and the positive steps subsequently undertaken. The effective implementation of what was agreed in Paris, starting from the full and comprehensive implementation of the ceasefire, is now of the utmost importance.
We commend and support Ukraine’s efforts in this framework. We urge all sides to show openness to dialogue and political will to push further the ongoing negotiations in the Normandy Format and in the Trilateral Contact Group.
We firmly believe that there is no alternative to the Minsk Agreements. We call on all sides to swiftly and fully implement them and condemn all initiatives that run counter to their letter and spirit. We call also on the Russian Federation to assume its responsibility in this regard.
Mr. President,
The role of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission remains essential. Our support for the SMM and its observers is unwavering, as testified by our increased contribution to the Mission. The OSCE SMM must be granted safe, secure, unhindered and unconditional access throughout Ukraine in accordance with its mandate.
In 2018 as Chairmanship-in-Office of the OSCE, Italy spared no efforts to restore mutual trust and facilitate dialogue toward a lasting and sustainable solution. We focused on strengthening the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and assigned absolute priority to alleviating the humanitarian conditions of civilians. We supported the similar efforts conducted by the Slovak Chairmanship in 2019 as well as the commitment shown in the same direction by the current Albanian Chairmanship.
Mr. President,
After almost six years of conflict, the civilian population continues to bear the heaviest burden. We express our solidarity and remain seriously concerned by their sufferings. The Italian Development Cooperation is actively engaged in the humanitarian response with a special focus on health and mine action. It is imperative to stop the violence, proceed immediately to fulfill all mine action commitments and ensure full and unimpeded access to all humanitarian actors.
We welcome the positive developments in Stanytsia Luhanska. Still, much more has to be done to ease living conditions of civilians and facilitate their safe crossing of the contact line. We call on all sides to ensure the security and accessibility of existing crossing points and to take measures for the opening of new ones.
Mr. President,
Recent developments in negotiations confirm that dialogue may not be the easiest choice, and that the implementation of the Minks agreements is not simple for any side, but this is the only choice. Rebuilding trust and confidence at the negotiating table is the right way to go to move forward with the implementation of the Minsk Agreements. The status quo cannot be sustainable for the security of the region and is certainly not sustainable for the people. Also in these past days the high-level contacts the Italian Prime Minister Conte and Minister of Foreign Affairs Di Maio had with both sides restressed how crucial dialogue remains. Italy will continue, at the bilateral level, within the EU and in the relevant multilateral fora, to support strengthened diplomatic and humanitarian efforts towards a peaceful solution of the crisis.
I thank you.
