United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has stated that the principle of self-determination does not apply to the people of Crimea and Donbass, drawing sharp condemnation from Moscow.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier this week accused the UN Secretariat of “playing into the hands” of Kiev and failing to act with impartiality, citing what he called glaringly different stances on self-determination for Crimea and Greenland.
Asked about this perceived double standard at a press conference on Thursday, Guterres said the body had held “very interesting discussions” on the matter and concluded that in Ukraine’s case, the “principle of territorial integrity” prevails over the will of the people.