UN Council supports Secretary-General's search for 'peaceful solution' on Ukraine
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously agreed to its first joint statement since the Ukraine war began in February.
It has expressed "strong support" for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's efforts to find a peaceful solution to the "dispute" in Ukraine.
In a brief meeting on Friday, a short statement was adopted and did not mention a "war", "conflict" or "invasion", with many council members calling it Russia's ongoing military act, or a "special military operation" as Moscow refers to it.
Instead, the UN Security Council says it "expresses deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine" and "recalls that all member states have undertaken, under the Charter of the United Nations, the obligation to settle their international disputes by peaceful means".
"The Security Council expresses strong support for the efforts of the secretary-general in the search for a peaceful solution," the statement says.
During recent meetings in Moscow and Kyiv, Mr Guterres reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky for the evacuation of civilians, first and foremost the besieged south-eastern port city of Mauripol and its last Ukrainian forces holdout at the Azovstal steel plant, where hundreds of civilians are also still living in underground bunkers.
In a tweet, Secretary-General Guterres said, "Today, for the first time, the Security Council spoke with one voice for peace in Ukraine.
"As I have often said, the world must come together to silence the guns and uphold the values of the UN Charter."
The UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross have carried out two successful evacuations from Mariupol and the surrounding areas so far and are currently trying to arrange a third from the steel plant.
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