Ukraine in OSCE: Russia is losing war on a battlefield and is trying to rewrite end of this story diplomatically
President of Russian aggressor state Vladimir Putin, declaring Sea of Azov an internal sea of Russia yesterday, simply did not learn the recent lesson when Ukraine liberated occupied Kherson.
This was stated by Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk on Thursday at the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council, informs Censor.NЕТ referring to Ukrinform.
"As demonstrated by the ministerial meeting, we are witnessing a new game of Russian diplomats - conciliatory in their statements and ready for dialogue. There is a clear reason for this, but also a clear explanation why it is a trap. As Russia is losing the war on the battlefield, they are trying to rewrite the end of this story diplomatically," he said.
The Ukrainian ambassador stressed that no matter what tricks Russian diplomacy resorts to, "its goals do not change", and yesterday's meeting of Putin with the so-called "council for the development of civil society and human rights" is very indicative in this regard.
"Putin announced with great enthusiasm that the acquisition of new territories for Russia is a significant result of the war he started. For Putin, this is nothing but a war of aggression. This time he declared the Sea of Azov an internal sea of Russia. Unfortunately, President Putin has not learned the recent lesson of Kherson. Well, it is better for someone to learn from their own mistakes," stated Tsymbalyuk.
As for those who "still believe that it is possible to reach an agreement with the Kremlin", the head of the Ukrainian mission to the OSCE reminded that the last massive missile strike of the Russian Federation on Ukrainian infrastructure took place on the 28th anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum.
"By signing this document, Russia reaffirmed its commitment to respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. But Moscow has blatantly violated its commitments by unleashing a full-scale war against Ukraine and trying to destroy the Ukrainian nation as part of its genocidal policy. Thus, the Budapest Memorandum proves that no agreement with the Russian Federation works if Russia retains the physical ability and motivation to violate them," the Ambassador stressed.
As it is known, Putin said on December 7 that Russia's acquisition of new territories was a significant result of the so-called "special military operation" against Ukraine. According to him, "why keep silent, and the Sea of Azov became the inland sea of the Russian Federation". At the same time, Putin added that "Peter the Great also fought to reach the Sea of Azov".
Kherson was occupied by Russians on March 2 and liberated by the Ukrainian army on November 11.
