Live: UN Security Council to meet on Russian war in Ukraine Thursday

Issued on: 10/05/2022 – 05:39

5:17am: UN Security Council to hold its 16th meeting on Ukraine Thursday

The UN Security Council is expected to hold a new public meeting on Thursday on Russia’s war in Ukraine, in light of the continuing deterioration of the humanitarian situation, diplomats said  Monday. 

The session, requested by France and Mexico, will be the 16th held by the Security Council since the Russian invasion of February 24, as part of an effort by western states to maintain pressure on Russia, which as a permanent member of the council has the power to block measures it disapproves of. 

France and Mexico have requested briefings from the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), a diplomat said. 

4:23am: Russia is not planning on closing its embassies in Europe

Russia is not planning to proactively close its embassies in Europe in response to unfriendly measures by the West and expansion of sanctions against Moscow, the RIA news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a deputy foreign minister.

“This is not in our tradition,” Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told RIA.

“Therefore, we believe that the work of diplomatic representative offices is important.”

11:00pm: Ukraine EU bid could take ‘decades’, warns Macron

France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said it would take “decades” for a candidate like Ukraine to join the EU, and suggested building a broader political club beyond the bloc that could also include Britain.

The idea immediately found favour with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who described it as a “very interesting suggestion” that he was “very pleased” to discuss with the French leader.

Ukraine, which is battling Russia’s invasion, is seeking EU membership, and the European Commission has said it will respond to the request next month — a key step before the issue is taken up by member states.

But Macron buried any hopes of swift membership for Ukraine, suggesting rather that it may be more efficient to consider building a wider club beyond the EU.

“I am saying this in all honesty — honesty that we owe to the Ukrainians,” Macron said. 

“We can have an accelerated process… to accept candidate status for Ukraine but we know that given our standards and the criteria, it would probably take decades for Ukraine to really join the European Union.”

(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and REUTERS)