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AP Photo/ Bebeto Matthews
The territorial integrity of member countries of the UN is one of the fundamental principles of the organization, said the UN Secretary-General, antónio Guterres, in response to the question about the attitude to the reunification of the Crimea with Russia.
“It is clear that there are some basic principles, and one of them – territorial integrity of member countries of the UN. It is still valid, and I hope that the international community will be able to confirm these principles,” said Guterres in an interview to several Italian publications, including the Italian newspaper La Stampa published on Thursday.
Thus the UN Secretary General answered the question, whether it considers valid the presence of Russia in the Crimean Peninsula.
Guterres became the UN Secretary-General from 1 January, the current review of the Crimean issue was the first since his inauguration.
Before the press Secretary of the President Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will continue to make efforts to de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine and intends to continue patiently and consistently explain to the partners, including the United States, the causes of the annexation of Crimea into the Russian Federation, the subject of the return of the Peninsula is not discussed and negotiated with foreign partners will not.