Zbigniew Rau made the statement in a speech to the UN Security Council in New York on Monday night, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The Council’s session focused on the situation in Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing invasion, according to officials.
Referring to Moscow’s suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative earlier on Monday, Poland’s top diplomat told the gathering that Russia had decided “to further inflame its imperial war“ against Ukraine by “rekindling its economic aggression against the societies of the global south" that are “most in need and vulnerable.”
Rau called on the remaining parties to the Black Sea Grain deal to stand by their commitments and continue exporting Ukrainian grain.
The Polish foreign minister said that Russia’s actions, such as the suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, “the constant undermining of security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the recent destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam,” showed that “the consequences of this war far transcend the Ukrainian and Russian borders.”
“The perpetrators of international crimes must be held accountable,” Rau also said, expressing Poland’s support for the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights.
He noted that Poland was involved in efforts to create a special tribunal for Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine and that a recent meeting of the proposed tribunal’s core group took place in Poland.
The Polish foreign minister also expressed Warsaw’s support for efforts to establish an “international mechanism for reparations for damage caused by the invasion by the Russian Federation.”
Rau stated that in finding peace in Ukraine, “it is essential to propose only rightful solutions.”
He stressed: “The only sustainable peace solution must be based on the UN Charter and its fundamental principle of territorial integrity.”
The Polish foreign minister added that the international community must support Ukraine in exercising its "right of self-defence.”
In his speech, Rau said that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine represented a “blatant violation of Charter of the United Nations by a permanent Security Council member” and described Moscow’s war of aggression as “the most overwhelming threat to world peace and security since the cold war.”
He urged the international community “to keep supporting Ukraine, which is a just cause” and called on “UNSC members and the whole UN family” to show determination in defending the fundamental principles of international order, the PAP news agency reported.
Rau is visiting New York this week to take part in a series of United Nations meetings.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Tuesday is day 510 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, United Nations, CNBC