Statement by Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov at the 68th session of the IAEA General Conference in the form of the right of reply 

In principle, Russia opposes the politicization of specialized international institutions and forums, including the IAEA. Unfortunately, our Western opponents hold a different point of view and invariably introduce politically charged attitudes into the Agency's activities. One striking example of this is the Canadian draft resolution on nuclear safety in Ukraine. Its co-authors are attempting to vest the IAEA General Conference and Board of Governors with the powers of the UN Security Council, raising issues of war and peace, territorial integrity and sovereignty, withdrawal of troops, etc. The same politicization took place in the national speeches of Western countries at the current session of the General Conference.

In this regard, in the exercise of the right of reply, we would like to outline the Russian point of view on the role of the West in the Ukrainian tragedy.

After the collapse of the USSR, numerous Western governmental and non-governmental organizations actively engaged in «brainwashing» the Ukrainian population, especially the younger generation, in the spirit of loyalty to the West and hostility to Russia. Over the past 30 years, they have been quite successful in this regard, creating the preconditions for the emergence of a serious conflict situation.

In early 2014, Western countries actively supported the coup d'etat in Ukraine. Many probably remember how the US Deputy Secretary of State handed out pies on the maidan, encouraging the opposition to continue protests, and then in a telephone conversation with the US Ambassador in Kiev discussed who should be appointed Prime Minister of Ukraine. This is the attitude towards Ukrainian independence and sovereignty on the part of the United States.

At the same time, the foreign ministers of Germany, Poland and France tried to act as mediators between the legitimate authorities of Ukraine and the opposition. They took on the role of guarantors of compliance with the agreement reached between the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition. However, the opposition forces violated this agreement the very next morning, and the so-called «guarantors» simply washed their hands of it.

The new Ukrainian authorities immediately began to implement a policy of infringing on the rights of national minorities. The population of Crimea and Donbass resolutely opposed this, standing up to protect the rights of their families. After that, Kiev, in violation of the constitution, began a military operation against its own population in Donbass, which at that time was still part of Ukraine. Over the 8 years from 2014 to 2022, about 14 thousand people died. Among them were 150 children, a monument to whom is located on the Alley of Angels in Donetsk. All these years, Western countries have strenuously pretended that nothing alarming or terrible was happening, thereby de facto encouraging the Ukrainian authorities to continue the war against their own people.

At some point, an attempt was made to reach peaceful solutions. As a result of negotiations between the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, the Minsk Agreements were developed. However, the Ukrainian side immediately embarked on the path of sabotaging these agreements, and Western countries provided the Ukrainian authorities with political cover, including when discussing this topic in the OSCE. The background was recently revealed by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She admitted that the purpose of developing the Minsk Agreements, in the view of the German side, was not to achieve peace, but to gain time to prepare Ukraine for a major war. Her words were soon confirmed by another participant in the Minsk negotiations, former French President François Hollande.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I would like to remind you that by the end of March 2022, as a result of bilateral negotiations, Russia and Ukraine came very close to signing a peace agreement, which had already been initialed. However, as the chief Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia, close to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in one of his television interviews, in April 2022, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Kiev, who forbade Zelenskyy from signing a peace agreement and insisted on continuing military action, promising massive arms supplies from Western countries. In September of this year, former US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland made an important confession. In a television interview, she confirmed that a peace agreement had actually been reached during bilateral Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. However, the Ukrainians then decided to consult with the United States, and Washington did not recommend signing the peace agreement in the form in which it was drawn up during the bilateral negotiations. Thus, Washington and London took full responsibility for the continuation of military action in Ukraine, although there was a real opportunity to establish peace two and a half years ago.

Summing up, I would like to once again express my absolute disagreement with the theses of our Western opponents, especially with their assertion that Russia allegedly carried out an «unprovoked» invasion of Ukraine. In fact, both Kiev and Western countries have been doing everything they can to provoke or, better to say, to force Russia into decisive action for eight long years.

Thank you for your attention.