Lithuanian ambassador: Russia is using propaganda, manipulations and pressure at UN

“The discussions [at the UN Security Council] about Ukraine were and still are very emotional and heated. In the discussions, Russia is using a broad arsenal of propaganda, lies, manipulations and pressure. So far, regardless of the active propaganda machine and lobbyism among third countries, Russia luckily remains in a clear minority in the council. However, with time we will need stronger efforts to keep it this way. The world is full of complicated and deadly crises, and the international community’s attention is shifting to the latest atrocities. Lack of attention benefits those who would want to remove the Crimea annexation and the war on Ukraine from the eyes of the international community,” Murmokaitė said in an interview published by the weekly magazine Veidas on Friday.

The diplomat noted that Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has been actively exercising its veto right on a number of issues, not just Ukraine, over the past years.

“Another example – in the face of what is probably the most horrific humanitarian disaster of the century, Russia exercised its veto right four times to block the Security Council resolutions on the situation in Syria. We can only guess how many lives we could have saved and whether the barbarian terrorist movement IS would be as powerful today, if the Council had been able to make early decisions in the Syrian crisis,” said Murmokaitė.

In her words, over nearly a year of its UN Security Council membership, Lithuania learned that “small countries can be influential and important players by acting in an active, consistent and focused manner”.

On 17 October 2013 Lithuania was elected as non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2014–2015 period.