TIRANA, September 20 – The High-Level Open Debate in the Security Council, chaired by Prime Minister Edi Rama, started on Wednesday with debates by Russia’s ambassador to the Security Council, Vasily Alekseyevich Nebenzy, who objected to the fact that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky to speak before the representatives of the member countries.
“The Albanian presidency opened a debate, an endless debate between a group of members who are also NATO members. Today will be no more, but a spectacle. We do not oppose the participation of the President of Ukraine, but it should be done according to existing rules of procedure and practices,” he stated.
Prime Minister Rama said that “coming from you, this whole lecture in this building is quite an impressive blow, given that you repeated it many times. The violation concerns the fact that Zelenseky will speak in front of the members of the Council. There is a solution to this: You stop the war and President Zelensky will not hold his speech.”
“What makes it important for all of us to hear and then discuss it comes from something that you did, not us,” said Rama.
The Russian ambassador said that “I want to draw your attention that today you are acting as the chairman of the Security Council and you are not speaking in your national capacity as a representative of Albania. Your task is to hold a meeting, as sanctioned in the Security Council, instead of giving settings, political assessments in your capacity as president of the SC.”
Prime Minister Rama replied that, “I was just replying after you addressed me as the ‘Albanian Prime Minister’, and after you continued to say incorrect things about the procedure here. If you don’t want me to answer you in the capacity of the Prime Minister of Albania, don’t provoke me as such.”
In the meantime the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has appreciated the Albanian PM, Rama for the way he led the meeting of the Security Council. Zelensky said Rama showed the world how to deal with Russia, its lies and hypocrisy.
“Dear Edi Rama, today at the UN Security Council you showed the world how to correctly handle Russia, its lies and its hypocrisy. I thank you for steering the Presidency in such a principled manner,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter. /argumentum.al
