On the sidelines of the general debate in the UN General Assembly, a showdown between Ukraine and Russia is taking place. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with Vladimir Putin’s representative Sergei Lavrov for the first time since the start of the war. The UN headquarters is in a state of emergency.
The Russian Foreign Minister and the Ukrainian President will be at the center of a Security Council meeting on Wednesday (from 5pm CEST).
The council apparently wants Zelenskyj to speak at the beginning of the meeting. Members could pass this with nine out of fifteen votes, even if Russia opposes it – the veto does not apply to so-called procedural votes.
While it is not expected that there will be a verbal exchange between Lavrov and Zelensky, the UN headquarters in New York has been a place of historic moments in the past.
The scenes from the emergency Security Council meeting at the end of February 2022, when UN Secretary General António Guterres made a last-ditch appeal to Russia, which had massed its troops on the border with Ukraine, will never be forgotten. “President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine, give peace a chance,” he said desperately into the camera at the time.
Putin declared war during the meeting
It took about half an hour before an aide whispered to Guterres at the meeting that Kremlin leader Putin had given the order to invade. An ambassador at the table later said she felt like she was witnessing world history.
Zelenskyj will now take a seat at the round table together with his enemy Lavrov in front of the enormous ‘Mural of Peace’ in the same room.
According to reports from journalists present, the UN headquarters is in a state of emergency due to the presence of the Ukrainian president. Always surrounded by American and Ukrainian bodyguards, Zelensky brings “the aura of war in his country to the general UN debate,” reports German news agency dpa.
Zelenskyj on a persuasion tour
It is also considered an open secret that one or two Russians in the house know Moscow’s secret services not only from television. The UN headquarters is not officially part of American territory and has its own security service.
Zelensky’s first visit to the UN headquarters in New York since the outbreak of war is seen as an attempt to convince skeptical countries of his course. After his visit to the General Assembly, he travels to Washington DC, where he mainly has to convince the American Republicans.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
