UN General Assembly
2022

The first is a question of principle, as I mentioned earlier. Our Organization champions universal values. Let us not allow the mistaken idea to take hold that there is something regional or adaptable in the values of the Charter. Our Organization has universal values and the division in the face of the war in Ukraine is simple. Are members for or against the law of the strongest, non-respect for the territorial integrity of countries and national sovereignty? Are members for or against impunity? I cannot imagine any international order or lasting peace that is not based on respect for peoples and the principle of responsibility. Therefore, yes, our values are universal and that is why they can never serve a Power that violates these principles. And when we have taken liberties with these same values in recent years, we have been wrong to do so, but that cannot under any circumstances justify trampling on what we collectively built after the Second World War.