UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres canceled a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday and decided to return to New York in a hurry due to the worsening crisis around Ukraine, his door announced. -word.
“Given the deterioration of the situation regarding Ukraine, the Secretary General is canceling his mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He will return to New York on Tuesday,” the organization’s spokesperson said in a brief statement. , Stephane Dujarric
After taking part in the annual international security meeting in Munich last weekend, Antonio Guterres, a Portuguese national, was in Portugal on Monday when he decided an hour before leaving for the Democratic Republic of Congo to cancel his trip and return to New York.
Earlier, during his daily press briefing, the spokesperson had indicated that the UN called on “all those concerned to refrain from any unilateral decision or action likely to undermine the territorial integrity of Ukraine”. , in response to a question about Moscow’s recognition of the independence of Ukrainian separatist regions.
“We underline our call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, for maximum restraint for all parties in order to avoid any action and statement that would further aggravate tensions”, also said Stéphane Dujarric, stressing that all disputes must “be treated by diplomacy”.
“The Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres) is very concerned about the latest reports of an increase in ceasefire violations, including the use of heavy weapons along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine,” as well as information about “civilian casualties,” the spokesperson said.
Stéphane Dujarric also indicated that the UN had “authorized the temporary relocation of certain non-essential staff members and certain family members” of UN personnel deployed in Ukraine.
He said that the UN currently has 1,510 employees in Ukraine, including 149 foreign nationals and 1,361 Ukrainian nationals.
AFP with ACTUALITE.CD
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