I would like to read out a statement on behalf of the governments of Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, The Republic of Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Norway, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, The United Kingdom, The United States of America and my government, Poland.
We are here to express our grave concern and to draw the attention of the international community to yet another flagrant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations committed by the Russian Federation.
Russian Federation, while attacking the territory of Ukraine on the night of September 9, conducted nineteen incursions of drone-type objects into Polish airspace. The drones which posed a real threat to the civilian population, infrastructure, and aviation safety, were pre-emptively neutralized. For the first time since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion against Ukraine in 2022, Poland’s territorial integrity – and, simultaneously, NATO and EU airspace – was violated on such an unprecedented and massive scale. This outrageous incident was preceded by various Russian violations of airspaces in the past.
Therefore, Poland, for the first time in its history, has decided to request the convening of an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, acting in the spirit of preventive diplomacy. The meeting was requested because Russia’s reckless actions represent not only a breach of international law but also a destabilizing escalation that brings the entire region closer to conflict than at any time in recent years. Such a provocation is profoundly disrespectful toward the collective and tireless efforts of the international community to bring an end to the war and to restore peace and stability in accordance with international law. We thank the Republic of Korea, presiding over the Council, for convening the meeting.
We take this opportunity to reiterate our call on the Russian Federation to immediately cease its war of aggression against Ukraine, to desist from further provocations, and to abide by the obligations enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
Escalation cannot and will not pave the way to peace. Only adherence to the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and peaceful settlement of disputes can create the conditions for just and lasting peace in Ukraine, Europe and beyond.