The initiator of the meetings of the members of the UN Security Council according to the Arria formula, Venezuelan diplomat Diego Arria, condemned Russia for using this format to spread lies and justify aggression against Ukraine.

He said this in an exclusive interview with Ukrinform, commenting on the meeting at the Security Council, which Russia held to once again spread disinformation about the situation in Donbas.

“I felt very bad today, after all, this is my name… the Russian mission is abusing something that was so valuable to the international community,” Arria said.

According to him, the formula was created to “open up the Security Council to protect human rights and freedoms around the world, so that members of governments or institutions that have been mistreated or vandalized by regimes have access to it.”

“It was never intended to be used by criminal-mafia regimes such as Putin’s,” the diplomat emphasized, stating that Moscow uses this format to justify aggression against a peaceful country. “They spread lies to the world in order to deny the crimes committed in Ukraine,” he explained.

Arria emphasized that “in a fairer world, it would be unthinkable for a country like Russia to be a member of the UN Security Council.”

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“I can’t forget how in February of last year, when Russia chaired the Security Council, Putin invaded Ukraine,” he emphasized. – It was a very strong signal to the world: it was sick of the Charter UN, according to the world. This is actually the public position that Putin is taking today.”

The Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN informed the Ukrinform correspondent that our country condemns Russia’s attempts to justify its armed aggression and to whitewash crimes on Ukrainian soil by spreading disinformation and fakes at the Arria formula meeting.

“We regret that this format… is currently being used by Russia for propaganda purposes. This is another example of deliberate misuse of the Soviet Security Service’s toolkit by a country that illegitimately occupies a permanent place in the Soviet Union,” the Post-Embassy emphasized.

Ukrainian diplomats recalled that in 2014-2021, Russia purposefully undermined the negotiation process and blocked all peace initiatives of Ukraine and partners within the framework of the Normandy format and the Trilateral Contact Group. The OSCE SMM regularly recorded numerous violations of the ceasefire regime against Ukrainian forces in Donbas.

Friday’s meeting according to the Arriya formula, the Post-Representation believes, was Russia’s attempt to shift the emphasis from missile terror against the civilian population and critical infrastructure of Ukraine.

On Friday, Russia initiated a meeting of UN Security Council members under the Arya formula to once again spread disinformation about the situation in Donbas.

Such meetings are informal, they are organized by any member of the UN Security Council to exchange views with the involvement of various people. The format is named after the diplomat Diego Arrija, who initiated such meetings in 1992 as the ambassador of Venezuela, then an elected member of the UN Security Council.

Photo: facebook.com/Arria.Diego