Foreign Minister: Tomorrow another country may be victim

The vote by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Thursday (February 23) showed that Russia's actions are unacceptable for the democratic world and that most of the world supports the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine, said Foreign Minister Rastislav Kacer at the Assembly’s special session in New York. The UNGA on Thursday approved a resolution on the basic principles of a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine. Slovakia was represented at the UNGA special session, held one year after the beginning of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, by Kacer. "If the world doesn't stand up to Russia, it will show others that aggression, questioning the right to self-determination of countries and changing borders by force is the natural right of the bigger and stronger. Today it concerns Ukraine, but tomorrow another country may be the victim," added Kacer. A total of 141 UN member states voted for the resolution, while seven were against and 32 refrained from voting. At the same time, he condemned the ongoing war in Ukraine and pointed to the need to oppose Russian disinformation, which attempts to justify the war and defend the indefensible.

During his visit to New York, the Slovak minister also met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, to whom he expressed his full support for efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine. They concurred on the need to prevent any disruption of the international arrangement valid since the end of WWII.