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The UN General Assembly's president, Annalena Baerbock, said she could imagine the UN's Blue Helmets helping secure a "lasting peace" after the war in Ukraine. DW has more.
Baerbock's new role is largely ceremonial
Image: Richard Drew/AP/picture alliance
The UN General Assembly's president, Annalena Baerbock, said she could imagine the UN's Blue Helmets helping secure a "lasting peace" after the war in Ukraine. DW has more.
What you need to know
Annalena Baerbock, the new president of the United Nations General Assembly, said UN peacekeepers could enforce a potential future ceasefire in Ukraine
Baerbock, the former German Green Party politician and foreign minister who took over the UN job on September 9, was speaking to German weekly newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
"If a peace treaty is reached, it must be secured in the best possible way. And if the majority of member states say that Blue Helmets are needed for this, then that is something that will hopefully secure lasting peace," Baerbock said.
She said such peace missions are "more necessary than ever before, and not only with regard to the European continent."
UN peacekeeping forces are referred to as Blue Helmets after the color of the protective gear they wear on the ground. They consist of military personnel from UN member states
UN's Baerbock says Blue Helmets could help safeguard ceasefire in post-war Ukraine
UN peacekeepers currently serve in DR Congo, Mali, South Sudan, Lebanon and along the border of India and Pakistan, among other conflict zonesImage: Moses Sawasawa/AP Photo/picture alliance
President of the United Nations General Assembly Annalena Baerbock has said she could imagine UN peacekeeping forces being deployed to Ukraine to secure a ceasefire and post-war peace if supported by the majority of UN states.
Baerbock, the former German Green Party politician and foreign minister who took over the UN job on September 9, was speaking to German weekly newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
"If a peace treaty is reached, it must be secured in the best possible way. And if the majority of member states say that Blue Helmets are needed for this, then that is something that will hopefully secure lasting peace," Baerbock said.
She said such peace missions are "more necessary than ever before, and not only with regard to the European continent."
UN peacekeeping forces are referred to as Blue Helmets after the color of the protective gear they wear on the ground. They consist of military personnel from UN member states seconded to work under the command and control of the United Nations.
Such a UN peacekeeping mission would also largely depend on Moscow. The UN Security Council authorizes peacekeeping missions, and Russia's veto power over any of the Council's decisions could stymie a UN Blue Helmet deployment to Ukraine.
Efforts to agree to a ceasefire have been ongoing for months, but have so far proven unsuccessful.
Russia has been unwilling to enter talks until what President Vladimir Putin calls the conflict's "root causes" — namely Ukraine's ambitions to join NATO and the European Union — are addressed.
Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, after backing separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014, when its forces illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula.
Baerbock formally took office as the president of the UN's General Assembly on Tuesday. The largely ceremonial role is different from that of the UN Secretary-General.
President of the United Nations General Assembly Annalena Baerbock has said she could imagine UN peacekeeping forces being deployed to Ukraine to secure a ceasefire and post-war peace if supported by the majority of UN states.
Baerbock, the former German Green Party politician and foreign minister who took over the UN job on September 9, was speaking to German weekly newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
"If a peace treaty is reached, it must be secured in the best possible way. And if the majority of member states say that Blue Helmets are needed for this, then that is something that will hopefully secure lasting peace," Baerbock said.
She said such peace missions are "more necessary than ever before, and not only with regard to the European continent."
UN peacekeeping forces are referred to as Blue Helmets after the color of the protective gear they wear on the ground. They consist of military personnel from UN member states seconded to work under the command and control of the United Nations.
Such a UN peacekeeping mission would also largely depend on Moscow. The UN Security Council authorizes peacekeeping missions, and Russia's veto power over any of the Council's decisions could stymie a UN Blue Helmet deployment to Ukraine.
Efforts to agree to a ceasefire have been ongoing for months, but have so far proven unsuccessful.
Russia has been unwilling to enter talks until what President Vladimir Putin calls the conflict's "root causes" — namely Ukraine's ambitions to join NATO and the European Union — are addressed.
Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, after backing separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014, when its forces illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula.
Baerbock formally took office as the president of the UN's General Assembly on Tuesday. The largely ceremonial role is different from that of the UN Secretary-General.
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