Ireland demanded that Russia immediately accept a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine

Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney urged Russia to immediately accept a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine and called on the UN Security Council to find a way to stop the war.

The Irish Defense Minister urged the UN Security Council to do everything possible to ensure urgent peace in Ukraine, amid Russia's offensive in the Donbas region.

In this regard, Coveney accused Russian forces of showing “absolute disregard” for humanitarian law and the protection of civilians.

“I hear the narrative, from too many quarters, that peace is only possible after the battle for the Donbas. I cannot accept that logic, a logic that directly leads to more deaths, more suffering and more displacement,” he stressed.

In his view, the Council should challenge that thought, every day. “We must demand more,” he stressed. Coveney also mentioned in New York the horrors he witnessed during his recent visit to the city of Bucha and has defined the scenes he witnessed as “profoundly shocking”.

“Hundreds of family homes, shops and other civilian infrastructure: blackened, burned, looted, damaged and, in some cases, completely destroyed,” he added.

Coveney said Ireland will not remain silent in the face of the “senseless and devastating” war in Ukraine or the impact it is having on some of the world's poorest countries. Thus, he emphasized that the UN Security Council cannot afford to remain silent either.

Coveney used his speech to call on Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to end the war. “As it was on February 25, this is what it is today: this is a war of choice. It can end immediately if President Putin so decides,” he stressed.

In this regard, he called on Russia to “accept an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, to undertake to negotiate”. “We know that in Istanbul some progress was made among the key parties. There is clearly a basis for a peace agreement,” Coveney said.

THE US MAINTAINS ITS SUPPORT

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby criticized Tuesday the situation in the Donbas and assured that the United States will continue to arm Ukraine to fight Russian troops while preparing a new military aid package valued at $800 million.

“The ammunition we are giving them is adapted and designed for the fight that we know they have now in the Donbas and that they will have in the coming days and weeks,” Kirby said at a press conference, adding that they are pieces for artillery, as well as radar systems, unmanned systems and small arms and ammunition.

(With information from Europa Press)

KEEP READING: