This is a major escalation, and with our partners, the UK is ramping up sanctions and actions to ensure that Russia ends its war in Ukraine…Jakarta (ANTARA) - The United Kingdom welcomes Indonesia’s statement on Russia’s sham referenda and its illegal annexation of Ukraine’s sovereign territory, the British Embassy in Jakarta said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
"I welcome Indonesia’s statement that these sham referenda are violations of the UN Charter and international law," British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Owen Jenkins said.
The UK shares Indonesia’s view that all countries must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of others, and that the Russian referenda are a violation of the principles of the UN Charter and international law, the British Embassy stated.
The British government argued that the principles are vital for global peace and security.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to redraw international borders by force undermine the rule of law from which all states benefit, the embassy added.
The British government considers Putin’s claims to incorporate the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya regions into the territory of the Russian Federation a new low point in Russia’s blatant flouting of international law.
With this act, Russia has again violated Ukraine’s sovereignty, its territorial integrity, the UN Charter, and the commonly agreed principles and commitments of the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter, the British Embassy said in its statement.
"Putin is losing this war and his move to seize Ukrainian territory through phoney referenda is a serious breach of the UN Charter, making peace even harder to achieve," Ambassador Jenkins said.
"This is a major escalation, and with our partners, the UK is ramping up sanctions and actions to ensure that Russia ends its war in Ukraine and the damage it is doing to people around the world," he added.
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Alongside its international partners, the UK has implemented a series of further sanctions that target key sectors of the Russian economy.
There is no doubt that Russia’s continued acts of aggression will prolong the negative impacts it has already imposed on the global economy and will jeopardize prospects for peace, the British Embassy said.
Earlier, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said that all countries must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries, in accordance with the main principles encapsulated in the UN Charter.
"Indonesia consistently upholds and respects these principles (of the UN Charter). These principles also apply in the case of the referendum of four regions in Ukraine. The exercise of such referendum violates the principles of the UN Charter and international law," it said in an official statement, which was also uploaded on Twitter.
"Such referendum will further complicate efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict and perpetuate the war, which will only cause suffering to all," it added.
UN Secretary General António Guterres has also repeatedly pushed for measures to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
"Now more than ever, we must work together to end this devastating and senseless war and uphold the UN Charter and international law," Guterres said.
Related news: Russia's referendums in Ukraine violation of UN Charter: Indonesia
Reporter: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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