UN Security Council meets today to discuss Ukraine crisis

The United Nations Security Council is meeting on Monday to discuss "the threat to international peace and security posed by the build-up of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border", according to the US representative to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

She told a press conference that "now is not the time to wait and see. The full attention of the Council is needed now and we look forward to a direct and useful discussion on Monday", referring to the tensions that Ukraine has been experiencing in recent weeks. "More than 100,000 Russian troops are deployed on the Ukrainian border and Russia is engaging in other destabilising acts directed at Ukraine, posing a clear threat to international peace and security."

The meeting was requested by the US last week, when the US diplomat argued that the Security Council is "a crucial place for diplomacy". Thomas-Greenfield stressed the importance and duty of such spaces for dialogue, saying that "Security Council members must honestly examine the facts and consider what is at stake for Ukraine, for Russia, for Europe, and for the fundamental obligations and principles of the international order if Russia invades Ukraine".

The meeting is the first formal debate on Ukraine to be held in the body and is expected to take place in open session. It comes a day before Russia takes over the rotating presidency of the Council in February. In any case, despite the US initiative, no formal resolution is expected to be issued in the body due to the veto power in the Council that both the US and Russia have as permanent members of the UN.

Ahead of the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country wants relations based on "mutual respect" with the United States in the run-up to the Security Council meeting. "Learning from bitter experience, we do not want to remain in a position where our security is infringed on a daily basis," he told the AFP news agency.

In this context, the Kremlin continues to state that it does not see "much cause for optimism" in the Western proposals, although it claims that there is still room for dialogue. The White House is calling on China to intervene in the crisis "in a constructive manner" to de-escalate tensions, taking advantage of the ties of interest that unite the two countries. 

While these diplomatic channels are being developed, the main Western powers are considering imposing new sanctions against the Kremlin. The UK has been the first to follow suit, and will introduce draft sanctions legislation this week targeting a 'wide range' of Russian economic activities.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has indicated that this initiative is intended to cover "any business of interest to the Kremlin and the Russian regime". "There will be nowhere for Putin's oligarchs to hide," Truss told Sky News.

Along with Britain, the United States has also threatened Russia with major new sanctions if it invades Ukraine. US senators are working to agree on sanctions legislation, the two senior lawmakers working on the bill announced. The sanctions measures would target major Russian banks and Russian sovereign debt, as well as offer broad economic assistance to Ukraine.