I join my other colleagues in expressing our appreciation to Mr. Jeffrey Feltman and Mr. Alexander Hug for their comprehensive briefings.
2. Malaysia is greatly alarmed by recent escalation in fighting in eastern Ukraine.
We have heard from the briefers on the gravity of the recent situation – the worst since the signing of the Minsk agreement in February.
3. We join other Council members in strongly urging all parties to fully comply with
the provisions of the Minsk agreement, as stipulated in Security Council Resolution
2202.
4. We also call on the parties to cooperate fully with the OSCE Special Monitoring
Mission to enable them to carry out their mandate, as laid down in the Minsk
agreement.
5. Malaysia welcomes the progress made so far in the implementation of the Minsk
agreement. Until very recently, the ceasefire has generally been respected, despite
incidents of low-key and sporadic fighting. We note that both sides withdrew heavy
weapons in the early months after the signing of the Minsk agreement.
6. We welcome and commend the establishment of four Working Groups in the
context of the Trilateral Contact Group, focusing on political, security, economic and
humanitarian issues.
7. On a related note, I wish to highlight that the overall improvement in the security
situation between March and April due to the ceasefire, has allowed for the return of an international team, including Malaysia, to complete the recovery mission for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.
8. We regret the fact that it took the Malaysian recovery team almost one year since
the downing of the aircraft to be able to enter the crash site, due to ongoing fighting in
eastern Ukraine. As our team managed to collect more remains and belongings of the
victims of MH17 recently, it provided us with a grim reminder of the tragic humanitarian costs of the conflict in Ukraine.
9. As we have heard from the briefers, whatever progress made in implementing
the Minsk agreement, they are still far from irreversible. Despite claims by both sides
that heavy weapons have been withdrawn, we remain concerned that movements or
presence of weapons in violations of the Minsk agreement had been observed by the
SMM. Inspections by the SMM on heavy weapons holding areas also found some
weapons missing or unaccounted for.
10. With the latest clashes in Marinka, the Minsk agreement is in a real danger of
unraveling. The civilian population, particularly children, would undoubtedly bear the
biggest brunt if the situation escalates.
11. It is heart wrenching to learn that up to 15 May, over 160,000 children have been
internally displaced in eastern Ukraine. 68 children were killed, and close to 200 were
injured. Children continue to live with their families in bomb shelters, be internally
displaced, and deprived of basic necessities such as water and healthcare.
12. We would remind all parties of their obligations under international law and
international humanitarian law, particularly on the protection of civilians. We also urge
all parties to allow safe and unrestricted humanitarian access to those in need.
13. In concluding, the parties to the conflict must take a step back from the spiralling
violence in Ukraine, and re-commit themselves to the full implementation of the Minsk
agreement.
We reiterate our commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, based
on the principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Ukraine. We appeal to the conflicting parties not to lose the opportunity for
peace once again.
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