They are so fully integrated economically, etc. So you dont have youth who feel that they are alienated, marginalized, dont have a job, etc. , in the way you can have it in areas of europe which can concede disaffection. The last question on the issue of isis competitors. Ill just say that one of the sometimes there are really bad ideas in policy debates. I think one of them, and it really takes your breath away, is this notion suggested by some even in the administration that if we kind of take a step back and let isis and other extremists fight it out with the assad regime and hezbollah and the youreian backers that both sides would end up weakened and i remember when i first heard this and said ok, but cant imagine anything thats turned out more long. The opposite is true and both were strengthened tremendously. This was their Training Ground fighting each other and became much better fighters over the course of that. And this is sort of the sarah palin position, let it all sort it outside. Steven walt wrote a piece which is essentially let them bleed and hes still writing it now which i cant understand. But the Obama Administration policy explicitly agreed with some of those assumptions and it doesnt work that way. Thank you so much for coming. Id like to say that twitter is calling this a real powerhouse hamad and sposito, dunne. Thank you for coming. This was a really special event. [applause] aptioning ned by national captioning institute] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2014] the adefenda is adopted in concurrence to rule 37 of the councils rules of procedure, i invite the representative of ukraine to participate in this meeting. It is so decided. In accordance with rule 39 of the councils provision of rules of procedure, i invite mr. Jeffrey feldman undersecretarygeneral of Political Affairs to participate in this meeting. It is so decided. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of item 2 of the agenda. I give the floor to mr. Jeffrey felton. Mr. President and distinguished members of the council, once more, we meet today emits reports of a dangerous escalation of a crisis in ukraine. August 26 official meeting between president putin and president porshanko as well as a round of multilateral shots have been escalated bience fight finding in southEastern Ukraine. This morning, ukrainian president asked the world to, quote, Pay Attention to the sharply worsening situation in ukraine, end quote. We are here because we are paying attention. But we also must find a constructive way to urgently address the crisis. The implications go far beyond u crane and the region. Illegal arm groups operating in the donesk region have reportedly intensified their activities in the last few days, spreading violence in ukraines Southern Coast in the direction of the strategic port of maripold. And its reported several small towns andvilleages are now in the midst of heavy fighting. And one town has been ceased by armed groups. The southward spread of fighting along the border with the Russian Federation in the seas has marked a dangerous escalation in the conflict. The battle for lohans continues and hostilitying in several key strategic areas has been spreading. We cannot ignore the deeply alarming reports of Russian Military involvement in this new wave of escalation. If confirmed, it would constitute a direct contravention of International Law and of the u. N. Charter. The United Nations has no independent means of verifying this information and the Russian Federation has staunchly rejected these reports. Today we have been in touch with ambassador aprikan the head of the special monitoring position and informed us heres currently no s. M presence in maripold though the osce is in the process of deploying a team to these areas. This will be critical as we seek factual information to what is precisely unfolding on the ground. Mr. President and ladies and gentlemen, the situation on and around the border between ukraine and the Russian Confederation is of particular concern and remains a key obstacle to the deescalation of e situation on the ground as arms and heavy weaponry continues to flow unawaited from russia. Theres an urgent need to secure a border within the two country with International Verification as discussed in the talks. If this regard, we take note of the recent statement made by president pora shmbings anko that the first bilateral confrontations between the Border Guards of ukraine and the Russian Federation are scheduled for august 30. It is himself critical the elections announced october 26 can take place throughout ukraine and become a unifying and recollect on kill tore mechanism that will ensure people throughout the country feel represented in kiev. Ladies and gentlemen, let me quote the second generals statement of earlier today. I quote, the International Community cannot allow the situation to escalate further, nor can we allow a continuation of the violence and destruction that this conflict has wrought in Eastern Ukraine. The secretarygeneral notes the recent multilateral talks in minsk on august 26 as well as the First Official meeting of the president of ukraine and russia. He calls for continuity of ese talks with a view of forging a peaceful way out of the conflict based on the president s peace plan. All must do their part to contribute to the peaceful resolution of this conflict in a manner upholding ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have to double our efforts to very solve the conflict in ukraine. Lives have to be saved. Peace in ukraine means now and beyond. The secretarygeneral remains committed to use his good office to resolve the crisis and well keep the council informed of the collective efforts of this organization to help the ukrainian people and last week the secretary general sent me to kiev to consult with officials on the way forward and undersecretarygeneral valerie amos whose visit overlapped with mine discussed how to bolster humanitarian efforts. In her field visit to Eastern Ukraine, she reported on impressive efforts by the ukrainian authorities to restore normalcy in areas regained by the government from the armed groups. Currently assistant secretarygeneral for human rights, is in ukraine and the u. S. Country team remains engaged in working with ukrainian counterparts on humanitarian and development issues. And we continue to coordinate with other international partners, including the osce and the netherlands on the aftermath of the downing of m817. But the immediate focus must be to find ways to reverse the dangerous escalation of fighting thats occurred over the past 48 hours and move quickly away from Armed Conflict and towards Political Solutions and dialogue. Thank you, mr. President and distinguished members of the council. I thank mr. Feltman for his briefing and i now give the floor to members of the Security Council and i give the floor to the representative of lithuania. Mr. President , thank you for conducting this urgent meeting. Lithuania condemns in the strongest terms of the invasion of the ukraine territory by the armed forces of the Russian Federation as a open violation of ukraines independent sovereignty and integrity and a serious blow to peace, security and stability across the entire region and well beyond. For most we have watched countless violations of ukraines territorial integrity and a war initiated by russia and fringe separatist groups in ukraine and provocative man igslations with humanitarian trucks and soldiers lost on the other side of the border and forces on ukraines sovereign territory. As the last day, reported troops from russian 98th Guard Airborne Division have taken over ukraine cities. Previously safe areas of ukraine have been affected, expanding the zone of conflict. I quote, there are active soldiers fighting among us who prefer to spend their vacation not on the beach but with us, among their brothers who are fighting for their freedoms, says one man. A rebel commander in the south proclaimed minister of nonexistent donesk peoples republic bolstering an interview on the Russian Television adding there were some 3,000 to 4,000 russians among the separatist strength. A member of the Advisory Council of the human rights said on thursday she believed russia was carrying out an invasion of ukraine. I quote, when masses of people under commanders orders on tanks and with use of heavy weapons are in a territory of another country across the border, i consider this an invasion, end of quote. Such actions by the Russian Federation are a gross violation of u. N. Charter in particular paragraph 4 of article 2 and other fundamental principles as we have said at this council many times before and International Law including the helsinki act, the 1997 treaty of friendship, cooperation and partnership between russia and ukraine and a 1984 budapest memorandum whereby ukraine denounced its Nuclear Weapons in exchange for security guarantees, specifically budapest memorandums articles 1 and 2 propose clear cut obligations on russia to respect their political independence and the territorial integrity of ukraine within the borders of 1994 and not to threaten it or use force by any means. Mr. President , by now this council has held close to 30 meetings on ukraine and heard numerous assurances by russia here and elsewhere regarding its desire for a solution in for the crisis in ukraine. All this time instead of seeking the solution, russia has been escalating the situation as a flow of weapons, equipment, mercenaries and now troops continue across russias borders in the territory of ukraine. Let us be clear, weapons dont fall in the hands of rebels out of the blue skies. Had not been for russias continuous active support the illegal separatists, a clear minority in the region they claim to represent would have long ago run out of team and weaponry. Eastern ukraine would have been coming back on its feet and i. D. P. Flows would have stop and reversed and normal lives have been lost. This conflict has claimed too many lives. Even modern estimates show there are over 2,000 killed since april. All this speaks about over 200,000 i. D. P. s and around 3. 9 Million People affected by the conflict. As of august 156789 people are dying in ukraine because of the criminal acts by the illegal separatists and the russian supporters. Soldiers, citizens of russia are also now losing their lives in this criminal war against the state of ukraine. As reported by various sources. The mothers of russian soldiers are seeking answers regarding their children. At least 400 dead. Journalists who are trying to investigate and report on the soldiers have been threatened and harassed. How many more lives need to be lost and maimed for russia to realize its follow i why of aggression against ue contain. Ukraine doesnt need more humanitarian convoys, ukraine does not need more russian tanks or separatist bans. What ukraine needs is a most urgent return by russia to the internationally accepted norms of behavior in compliance with International Law and with respect to the law which russia bears a special responsibility. Lithuania calls in the strongest of terms on russia to come back to its senses and to comply with the principles and purposes of the u. N. Charter to immediately withdraw its military forces, weaponry and equipment from the sovereign territory of ukraine, to secure its borders, cease shelling of ukraine from the russian territory and urgently end all support to the illegal armed separatist groups in the east of ukraine. President poroshenkos peace plan must be implemented. As for russias statement whose statement is so often lamented by russia, that statement as well as any ceasefire must be implemented by all sides including the illegal separatists and including russia itself. Anything less than that equals to a cynical demand for ukraines unconditional surrounder. Like any sovereign member of the United Nations, ukraine has a right to defend itself as per article 51 of the u. N. Charter. That right cannot be taken by anyone. Mr. President , for too long now we have watched russias creeping attack against ukraine sovereignty and integrity and because it was happening one step at a time, our response has been like that of the proceed verbal boiling frog, once International Laws get so brazenly broken as they are of the ukraine, it would be naive to think such disregard for International Norms of behavior will stop at that and not creep even further. Are we willing to take such risks . I thank you, mr. President. I thank the representative of lithuania for her statement and now give the floor to the representative of france. [speaking in french] the information we have coming from the ground is quite disturbing, the actions carried out by the separatists and the intensification of fighting in the urban areas has led to serious humanitarian consequences. Today we are calling upon all parties for restraint to protect the civilian population and to respect International Humanitarian law, bearing in mind the hundreds of thousands of terrorized and displaced persons. Mr. President , the support of russia for the separatists in violation of the territorial integrity of the ukraine is inadmissible. The presence of russian soldiers on ukrainian territory and their direct participation alongside separatists in the taking of lives cannot be tolerated. As recalled by the president of the French Republic this morning, russia must respect the sovereignty of ukraine and must stop its support for the separatists and it must call upon them to accept a bilateral ceasefire. It is in this framework that we must seek a lasting political settlement but moscow must agree to deescalate. That presupposes in the immediate future the halting and arrival of military material d. E to the separatist controlled along the russian and Ukrainian Borders and on this issues are respecting russia to engage in a serious and beneficial political dialogue, beneficial for all. The worsening and prolongation of the conflict is not in the interest of ukraine or russia or the International Community. Mr. President , the holding of the august 26 in minsk could be of a meeting between mr. Boroshenko and mr. Putin though it did not lead to results was a positive step in that it led to direct contact between the two president s following the meeting on june 6. The ukrainian crisis is one of the worst crisis in europe since the end of the cold war. Our objective is to arrive finally at a lasting political solution to this crisis which has lasted far too long but while russia pursues escalation, it will not if a an opportunity to resume political dialogue and we will keep the pressure on. It is for that reason the European Union adopted on july 29 a substantial package of economic and sec tearal sanctions against russia and these sanctions will be maintained and increased if the escalation were to be pursued. We hope we would not get to that point and its not in the interest of russia or anyone. Thank you. I thank the representative of france for his statement and give the floor to the representative of jordan. [speaking in foreign language] thank you, mr. President. Wed like to extend our thanks to mr. Feltman for his briefing on the situation in ukraine. Jordan expresses its concern, its deep concern in the escalation of the crisis in kraine and the situation there. And jordan reaffirms respect for need to respect for the sovereignty of ukraine and the territory and integrity and to not commit any provocative action that would threaten its security and peace. This behavior will only complicate matters in the east of ukraine and impact negatively peace. We call upon all parties to not not to resort to military means and to cooperate to reach a peaceful solution based on the charter of the United Nations and the rules of International Law and all attempts made during the past months, including agreements signed between the two parties. Eres an urgent need to make assistance reach those who need it by the isic and other organizations for humanitarian relief. This assistance must not be politicized. It must remain a humanitarian task to help those who need them. We also reiterate the need to translate the outcome of the belarus summit to lead to progress in peace talks and release all hot continuals. In this respect, we call upon both parties, the russian and the ukrainian parties, to ontinue talking and consulting and hopefully lead to peace between the two parties. We also hope that they can link peace to political and economic interests for the good of the people of both parties. This escalation would increase risk that would threaten the security of russia and ukraine and all of the region. Jordan calls upon the United Nations and all other parties to take steps in the direction dialogue of russia and ukraine and build on the efforts made to protect the security of ukraine including mechanisms that would protect civilians and make sure that assistance would reach those who need it. Jordan believes that a peace between the two parties would require a political will by all parties and goodwill and a realization that provocation with the ministry or otherwise would not lead to peace but more escalation an