Russia's imperial and colonial ambitions brutally violate UN Charter - Braze

RIGA - Russia's imperial and colonial ambitions brutally violate the UN Charter, speaking on behalf of Latvia and Lithuania, Foreign Minister Baiba Braze (New Unity) said at an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday.

She underlined that Latvia and Lithuania stand in full solidarity with our neighbor and ally Estonia. On September 12, the UN Security Council strongly condemned the violation of Polish airspace caused by a massive incursion by Russian drones. Latvia and Lithuania expressed their full solidarity with Poland at this meeting. The two Baltic states have also warned of the risk of further Russian provocations. "Now one of us - Estonia - is convening a meeting in response to yet another serious and deliberate Russian escalation," said Braze.

The Latvian foreign minister noted that since 2022, Europe has seen a sharp rise in unconventional Russian attacks - from GPS jamming, sabotage operations, attempts to plant explosives on DHL planes to drone strikes.

Russia's war in Ukraine and its flagrant violation of Estonian airspace once again demonstrate Russia's complete disregard for the authority of the UNSC and the demands of numerous UN General Assembly resolutions, Braze said.

"As we speak at this emergency meeting, Russia continues to target and destroy Ukrainian cities, critical civilian infrastructure and kill innocent civilians - all in the name of a land grab. We are not facing a "Ukrainian crisis", we are facing a Russian crisis", said the Latvian foreign minister.

She stressed that, contrary to the efforts of the US President, Europe and Ukraine's partners, Russia is not seeking peace. Russia's imperial and colonial ambitions brutally violate the UN Charter. Braze called on the meeting to remember Georgia in 2008, Crimea in 2014 and the large-scale aggression against Ukraine since 2022.

"We will never accept Russia's attempts to attack, dominate, intimidate or establish a sphere of influence over its neighbours. We - free and democratic countries - will continue to invest in our deterrence, defense and resilience capabilities. We are working closely with our allies to deploy additional capabilities to ensure that Russian provocations will not be tolerated in the future," said Braze.

Latvia and Lithuania ask the UN Council to remain engaged in the maintenance of international peace and security. Ironically, however, it is the aggressive, revanchist behavior of Russia - a permanent member of the UNSC - that is again seriously undermining global security, the Latvian minister said.

Latvia and Lithuania call on the UNSC and all UN Member States to condemn Russia's aggressive behavior in the strongest possible terms.

As reported, an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) was convened on Monday in connection with the violation of Estonian airspace by Russian fighter jets on September 19.