BRAMA, February 3, 2001, 5:00pm EST

Merci, Monsieur le Président.

Permettez-moi, tout d’abord, Monsieur le Président, de vous adresser mes très chaleureuses félicitations pour votre accession à la Présidence du Conseil de Sécurité pour le mois de Février. Ces félicitations, je tiens à les étendre aux membres de votre délégation qui vous assistent dans vos activités à ce poste; activités au succès desquelles je puis vous assurer la pleine collaboration de la délégation d’Ukraine.

Je veux également adresser à votre prédécesseur, Ambassadeur Kishore Mahbubani, mes sincères compliments pour le travail remarquable qu’il a accompli durant son mandat au mois de Janvier.

Je voudrais aussi m’associer aux orateurs qui m’ont précédé en souhaitant la bienvenue à S.E.M. Joseph Kabila, Président de la République Démocratique du Congo, ainsi qu’en le remerciant pour son intervention qui est bien utile à la lumière de l’examen par le Conseil de Sécurité de la situation en RDC dans ses dimensions intérieure et régionale.

En profitant de cette occasion, Monsieur le Président, je tiens de même à présenter de la part de l’Ukraine les condoléances les plus sincères au Président Joseph Kabila, et en sa personne à tout le peuple congolais, à l’occasion de la mort tragique de son père, Laurent-Désiré Kabila.

Mr.President,

The situation in the DRC is one of the most sensitive and complex issues of the African continent.

We welcome the relentless diplomatic efforts at the high level that we take as an indication that leaders of the countries of the region are willing to search for the ways to advance the peace process. We also welcome and support the willingness of the Government of the DRC, which was quite clearly expressed by President Joseph Kabila in his inaugural speech, as well as during his meetings in Paris, Washington and here today in New-York, to move towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict on the basis of transparency, constructive approach and comprehensive dialogue with all the parties concerned.

At the same time we can see that not everything goes the way it was planned and expected. In this connection we would like to underline, among other elements, the importance of additional political steps by the Government of the DRC aimed at promoting the inter-congolese dialogue, which is a key element in advancing the peace process in the country. To this end, it is necessary to intensify political negotiations between the Congolese parties (and this, quite obviously, is a very difficult task) in order to defuse the conflict.

We think that, rather than to lead to separate arrangements on power distribution, these negotiations should be aimed at achieving agreement on a new constitution and a new way of governing the country.

It goes without saying that a necessary precondition for this, or a necessary background, if you wish, should be withdrawal of foreign troops from the territory of the DRC, as has been repeatedly called for in relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.

We are convinced that continued movement of the parties concerned towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict should, as before, be based on the Lusaka Cease-fire Agreement, as well as on the Kampala, Harare and Maputo arrangements, and that the "language of arms" can not be a means of defusing the conflict. We firmly believe that all parties to the conflict should continue a constructive dialogue to this end and take, within the framework of these documents, additional measures to accelerate the peace process.

Activities of MONUC should be regarded as an impetus to this process, and the parties concerned should do their best to facilitate effectively and comprehensively its deployment, inter alia, by fully implementing the provisions of the Status of Forces Agreement. Ukraine, on its part, reaffirms its readiness to contribute to the UN peace-keeping efforts in the DRC.

It will be necessary to focus on solving quite a number of issues underlying the conflict that need to be addressed without delay. These include withdrawal of foreign forces, disarmament and demobilization of members of the armed groups, ensuring security of borders between DRC and Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi, safe return of the refugees, inter-congolese dialogue, restoration of the national and regional economy, as well as regional economic co-operation.

These and other issues pertaining to implementation of the Lusaka Agreement, as we know, will be discussed at the meeting of its signatories to be held 21-22 February here in New-York.

We are certain that all these problems, difficult and complex as they are, could be resolved only through a constructive dialogue between all the parties to the conflict, one of which is the DRC.

I would like to wish President Joseph Kabila and his Government patience, tolerance, perseverance and success along the bumpy road to peace and prosperity in the DRC.

I thank you.

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