Japan Calls Out Russian Blind Spot in Security Council Response

Today, in a compelling and dramatic exchange in the United Nations General Assembly,

Japan's representative exposed a key blind-spot in Russia's speech about international

law. The Russian representative had carefully prepared, and presented a passionate

speech about the principles of security, and the principle of sovereignty apropos to

international tribunals. The speech was structured, logical, and represented

Russia's case well, however, in upholding Russia's defence, the representation never

acknowledged or remembered Russia's own actions in Ukraine.

Japan's representative offered, and managed to expose the omissions in the Russian

representation, and ultimately unsettled Russia's delegation. With a thoughtful, calm,

and reasonable tone, Japan's representative raised the issue of the contradiction

between Russia's professed commitment to sovereignty and their military interactions

with Ukraine. The Japanese representative offered that if a state is in the act of violating

the sovereignty of a state, then any reference to international tribunals, or whether

sovereignty has been violated, is meaningless. This pointed response effectively

unraveled the careful argument of the Russia spokesman, and exposed a considerable

blind-spot to their intervention.

Siddhanth Anand,

Xinhua News