The Tribune

THE Bahamas government is appealing to all sides involved in Ukrainian- Russian tensions to seek a diplomatic solution that respects the rules-based system of international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This position was articulated yesterday in a brief statement from Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell as he noted The Bahamas is advocating for a peaceful solution to the situation.

“The Bahamas has and maintains its commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations including at this time Ukraine,” Minister Mitchell said. “We deplore the escalation of tensions and the attendant loss of life along the Ukrainian- Russian border. We support the statement of the Secretary General of the United Nations.

“We call on all actors to seek a diplomatic solution to the current conflict that respects the rules-based system of international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“We encourage all relevant actors to turn their efforts toward an immediate cessation of hostilities, the preservation of human life, and the prevention of any action that may intensify an already dangerous situation; so that a peaceful and sustainable resolution can be achieved.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops into two Russia-backed separatist territories in Ukraine and has hinted at the possibility of a wider military campaign and laid claim to all of Ukraine as a country “created by Russia” in an emotional and aggrieved address to the Russian people.

Russian state television showed Mr Putin signing decrees late Monday recognising the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and directing the Russian Defence Ministry to deploy troops in those regions to carry out “peacekeeping functions”.

The order was condemned as a violation of international law and Ukraine’s sovereignty by several nations at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday night.

“He calls them peacekeepers,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations. “This is nonsense. We know what they really are.”

It was not immediately certain whether the Russian troops would remain only on the territory controlled by the separatist republics, or whether they would seek to capture the rest of the two Ukrainian enclaves whose territory they claim.

And so it was unclear if a long-feared Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine had begun. The separatists might have invited Russian forces in, but neither Ukraine nor the rest of the world views the so-called republics as anything but Ukrainian territory.