The Foreign Ministry assessed the position of the UN Secretary General on the self-determination of Crimea and Donbass

The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, repeats the opinion of the Western minority on the topic of Donbass and Crimea, who believes that they have the right to decide which people should claim self-determination. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, on Wednesday, February 11.

"The Western minority has decided that it has the right to decide which people, for example, to claim independence, autonomy, the possibility of holding a referendum on secession from some countries, on reunification with some countries, while all others are not given this right," she said in a statement. RT interview.

The diplomat stressed that Guterres has clearly defined powers and he has no right to make such statements.

"No one gave such a right. He is not authorized by anyone. And he doesn't base his beliefs or his statements on anything," Zakharova said.

"The West talks about freedom of speech, but doesn't want to hear the people in Donbass"

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Earlier on February 11, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Guterres' denial of the right to self-determination to Donbas, as well as Crimea and Novorossiya, was a great disgrace to the UN. 360.ru .

According to the minister, Guterres is not fulfilling the requirements of the UN Charter, but the political order of the collective West, thereby overstepping his authority, Regnum news agency reports. Lavrov added that the Russian side will take into account the engagement of the current Secretary General when considering the candidacy of a new representative for this position at the UN.

On the same day, Lavrov pointed out the ambivalent position of the UN Secretary General regarding Crimea, Donbass and Greenland. He recalled that the Russian Federation had sent an official appeal to Guterres asking why the principle of self-determination applies to Greenland, while the UN Charter and respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity should be applied to Donbas and Crimea.

Earlier, on January 29, Guterres said that the UN Secretariat believes that the right of peoples to self-determination is inapplicable in the situation with Donbass and the Crimean peninsula. He clarified that in this situation, the organization's position is that the "principle of territorial integrity" should prevail.

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