New York: More than 50 countries, including Japan and the United States, and the European Union issued a joint statement Friday condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine as Saturday marks the second anniversary of the start of the invasion.

The joint statement condemned the invasion as a “flagrant violation of international law” and demanded the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

The joint statement came as a plenary meeting of the U.N. General Assembly and a ministerial meeting of the U.N. Security Council were held to mark two years since the war began.

Marking the first anniversary last year, the General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for early peace by a majority vote of 141 countries. But this year, no motion to adopt such a resolution was submitted to the General Assembly or the Security Council, possibly because of concerns that the number of votes for such a resolution might decrease, reflecting criticism of the Unites States’ pro-Israel stance on the conflict between Israel and the Islamic group Hamas in Gaza, which started last October.

On Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba attended both the General Assembly and Security Council meetings, seeking support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace plan and asking for the provision of arms.

“As we discuss the war, peace talks and negotiations here, another air raid on Ukraine is taking place right now,” Kuleba told the Security Council.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the Security Council meeting that more than 14.5 million people in Ukraine need humanitarian assistance now, and called for an end to the Russian invasion.

Meanwhile, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia accused Western countries of continuing to “pump weapons” into Ukraine.

JIJI Press