UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2022) Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy accused Ukraine's envoy to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya of demagogy and misrepresentation of facts.
Kyslytsya earlier said Russia allegedly cannot document its rights to permanent membership in the UN Security Council. According to him, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation did not go through the procedure for joining the UN, provided for by the Charter. He also accused the UN Secretariat of hiding documents related to the issue and called on the organization to admit the mistake and disclose them.
"Mr. Kyslytsya bases his position on a set of pseudo-juridical statements pretending that they are axiomatic. However, it doesn't take an international law scholar to see that his presentation is built around empty demagogy and deliberate misrepresentation of facts. Most importantly, he juggles the terms 'succession' and 'continuity' as if they were synonyms. From the legal viewpoint, they have completely different meaning," Polyanskiy told Sputnik.
"His flawed basic assumption seems to be that applying for the UN membership de novo, would be relevant to a case of a 'Successor State', like his own country, Ukraine, which inherited a portion of rights and obligations of the USSR and represents a new and distinct international law entity," he said.
Polyanskiy said Russia belongs to a different legal category.
"The Russian Federation belongs to a totally different legal category, being an internationally recognized 'État-continuateur' of the Soviet Union. It means that the legal personality of the USSR did not terminate after 1991 - it continued under the name of 'the Russian Federation'. It's hard to ignore the key difference here: 'État-continuateur' is the same entity under international law. On other words, by equating 'État-continuateur' to a 'Successor State' Mr. Kyslytsya successfully proves only one thing - his complete legal illiteracy," he said.
Polyanskiy suggested that by claiming that the United Nations keeps some documents in secret, Kyslytsya wanted to find proof of some kind of a worldwide conspiracy theory.
"Well, it's hard for me to guess what's going on in Mr. Kyslytsya's head - maybe he wants to find a proof of some sort of worldwide conspiracy theory. On a more serious note, he obviously tries to create 'a mystery' or 'sensation' out of thin air. First, you don't need to go to the UN Secretariat to learn about the status of Russia as the 'État-continuateur' of the Soviet Union. There are no secrets or conspiracies whatsoever. Numerous documents, including relevant statements, verbal notes, international communiqués and declarations recognizing that fact are available in public domain. If Mr. Kyslytsya is not on friendly terms with internet search engines, our colleagues in the MFA of Russia have accumulated some of the relevant sources in a recent commentary, he might find it useful," the Russian first deputy permanent representative said.
"We would highlight one document in particular. The Decision of the Council of Heads of State of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as of December 21, 1991 confirmed in unequivocal terms that members of CIS supported Russia in continuing membership of the USSR in the UN, including its permanent seat in the Security Council. The Decision was signed by Ukraine President L. Kravchuk," he said.
Polyanskiy said it would be more productive for Kyslytsya to search for the relevant information in the archive of his own Foreign Ministry in Kiev.
"We hope that the original version of the December 21, 1991 Decision did not fall victim to various dignity revolutions. In the unfortunate case it did happen, Ukraine can always ask one of its neighbors for a true certified copy. Finally, the Secretariat maintains a truly impressive audiovisual library on international law. Its staff, most surely, will be happy to assist the Ukrainian PR and his team to learn more about the difference between 'État-continuateur' and a 'Successor State'," he said.
