To Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre
We followed the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine and Russia's role in this in many years. We have had several meetings both in Ukraine and in the Nordic countries to try to contribute a positive development in Ukraine.
"Our evidence shows that Russia is fueling the conflict, both directly and indirectly interference and by supporting the separatists in the east. Russia must stop the regular the flow of weapons and other support to a rebel force strongly involved in serious human rights violations, said Amnesty Secretary General Salil Shetty in a statement recently.
- The war between Ukrainian government forces, Russian soldiers and Russia-backed separatists have killed more than 13,200 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014. As many as 1.5 million people have been forced to flee, according to the American think tank Council on Foreign Relations.
The basic principle is that sovereign nations have the right to seek their own foreign and security policy anchoring. NATO member states in the east are covered by it the same security guarantee as all countries in the alliance. A military invasion will lead to great loss of life and enormous destruction in Ukraine. The requirements and the Russian military aggression speaks a clear language: Give in, or risk a new war. We are therefore concerned not only for the people of Ukraine but also for the whole peace of Europe.
Therefore, we hope the Norwegian government can contribute something positive in this critical the conflict. We are very pleased with the clear and unequivocal message from the Secretary-General in NATO Jens Stoltenberg this week. This week was a fateful week for Russia relation to the West. While Russian soldiers are ready in eastern Ukraine, Russian went top politicians in meetings with the United States, the OSCE and NATO, respectively.
We urge the Norwegian Presidency of the UN Security Council to follow up as soon as possible the threat to Ukraine and the threat to world peace.
Putin and Merkel already talked in 2017 about UN forces could be the solution to stop Europe's most dangerous conflict. Ukraine has proposed several times before UN forces. From the Ukrainian side, however, it is an absolute requirement that the UN soldiers receive access to the entire area the rebels control, not least the border crossings Russia. This should be a matter of course.
The Russian force building is part of a process that has been going on in full ever since 2014 also partly inside Eastern Ukraine. We hope for a clear Norwegian voice against Russia's aggression in eastern Ukraine. We encourage the Norwegian government through their international channels to quickly address this:
1) If Russia does not accept the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces at the entire border between eastern Ukraine and Russia, NATO must deploy forces in Ukraine if they so request
2) Severe sanctions should be imposed if Russia continues its aggression and brutality against Ukraine, or repeating the acts of war from
2014.
Support to the People of Ukraine have planned a peace seminar in Oslo in May 2022 and is well underway with the planning. Ukraine is the theme and we hope on support and participation from the government. We are therefore seeking feedback from the Prime Minister's Office.