![]() On that, the United Kingdom’s representative said that Moscow is again misusing this Council to obfuscate its responsibility for atrocities in Ukraine, pin blame on the West and hide its own failures. Several delegations pointed to the futility of having repeated meetings on “the arms supply by the West”, requested by the Russian Federation. Some underscored the right of self-defence enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations while others called for a peaceful settlement of the conflict through diplomacy. In the ensuing debate, many speakers called on the Kremlin to end its invasion. Moreover, since February 2022, NATO countries have continued pouring weaponry into Ukraine, including, among others, shoulder-fired man-portable air defence systems, anti-ship missiles, armoured personnel carriers, long-range cruise missiles and cluster munitions. He went on to say that, following the illegal and violent overthrow of the elected Government in Kyiv on 22 February 2014, NATO supported the new rulers, providing weaponry and training to Ukraine’s armed forces. “There was nothing at all unreasonable about these demands, nothing there that could not have been addressed with a little deft diplomacy.” “At the heart of Russia’s proposals was a commitment by NATO to no further expansion, and in particular to no NATO membership for Ukraine,” he said. George Szamuely, a journalist, also briefed the Council, stressing that the ongoing war would not have happened if the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had embraced the Kremlin’s draft proposals on 17 December 2021 outlining a new security architecture for Europe. “The world cannot afford for this senseless war to continue,” she stressed, appealing to all Member States to “make every effort for peace”. She also urged all Member States to participate in the UN Register of Conventional Arms, which captures around 90 per cent of global arms flows and can help in tracking the influx of weapons in conflict zones while drawing attention to the established arms-control instruments - such as the Arms Trade Treaty. ![]() Warning against risks of weaponry falling into wrong hands, she called for measures, comprehensive pre-transfer diversion risk assessments, end-user certificates and post-shipment verifications, among others. ![]() “The supply of weapons and ammunition into any armed conflict raises significant concerns about the potential escalation of violence,” said Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. Amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, defensive military assistance to Kyiv has continued while weapons and ammunition have been reportedly transferred to the Russian Federation Armed Forces, a top United Nations disarmament official told the Security Council today, stressing that such actions risk escalating the conflict.
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