Photo: Delegates of the Antarctic Treaty visit the South Pole (1972-73), ANTARCTICA NZ PICTORIAL COLLECTION

At the annual meeting on the Antarctic Treaty, 25 participating countries expressed strong support for Ukraine in connection with the armed aggression of the Russian Federation and staged a demarche during the speech of the Russian representative, defiantly leaving the meeting room.

The meeting took place today in Berlin, informs the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science.

"This event is, in fact, the most important event of the year in the elite club of the Antarctic countries, which can be compared with a meeting of the UN General Assembly - only for the Antarctic Treaty participants. All the most important issues of joint management and interaction on the icy continent are resolved at the meeting. In general, the Treaty participants There are 54 countries, but only 29 Consultative Parties, including Ukraine, have the right to vote,” explained Deputy Minister of Education and Science, head of the Ukrainian delegation Oleksiy Shkuratov.

Today, at the solemn plenary session on the occasion of the opening of the meeting, the representative of Ukraine, Counsellor-Envoy of the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany Maxim Yemelyanov, spoke. He familiarized the delegates with the consequences of a full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into the territory of Ukraine and the impact of Russian aggression on the Ukrainian Antarctic program.

"The Antarctic Treaty system was founded in the spirit of international scientific cooperation instead of attempts at militarization and territorial claims. Obviously, Russia has not matured to the level of respecting the internationally recognized borders of other states and the right of its neighbors to independent existence. Such an aggressor state is not deserve to be a member of international organizations and should be completely isolated," Yemelyanov stressed.

In response, France (which currently chairs the Council of Europe) issued a joint statement on behalf of 11 EU member states (including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden and Finland) on full support for Ukraine and condemnation Russian aggression. This statement was joined by the delegations of Norway, Romania, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and the USA, and a number of Latin American countries - Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Uruguay. That is, a total of 25 countries joined the statement, of which 23 are Consultative Parties.

During the speech of the Russian representative, the Ukrainian delegation defiantly left the meeting room. Our demarche was supported by the delegations of the countries mentioned above, whose representatives also left the hall.

In addition, the US representative in his speech, announced his intention to denounce the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Russian governments on cooperation in Antarctica and block the chairmanship of the Russian Federation in any working groups and related events under the Antarctic Treaty.

*** Ukraine acceded to the 1992 Antarctic Treaty. Participation in the Treaty gives our state the right to carry out activities in Antarctica (in particular, to establish scientific stations and send scientific expeditions) and to appoint authorized representatives to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. They are held annually to discuss topical issues of research and development of the Antarctic and develop recommendations for their governments.