Address by H.E.Gleb A.Ivashentsov,

Ambassador of Russia,

at the breakfast in honour of

Dr. Cheick Sidi Diarra,

UN Under-Secretary General

(Seoul, July 3^rd, 2009)

Your Excellency Dr. Cheick Sidi Diarra,

Esteemed Dr. Limb Thok-Kyu,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Let me extend my heartfelt greetings to all of you. Thank you, Dr. Limb Thok-Kyu, for your kind invitation to take part in this breakfast in honour of Dr. Cheick Sidi Diarra, Under-Secretary General of United Nations.

Dr. Cheick Sidi Diarra is a well-known diplomat with a great experience in the field of international relations, law and development. He has considerably contributed to the elaborations on the problems of Africa, Least Developed and Landlocked Developing Countries. We are glad to welcome Dr. Cheick Sidi Diarra in Seoul both as a champion of the progress of Africa and as a prominent representative of the United Nations system.

My country, Russia is a time tested friend of African countries. Russians never came to Africa as colonizers. On the contrary, they have always been on the side of African peoples in their struggle for freedom and independence. And nowadays, as was convincingly demonstrated during the recent tour of African countries by President Dmitry Medvedev of the Russian Federation, we are prepared to help Africans to defend their interests. In this regard, we attach a great significance to the reform of the United Nations Organization. We support our African partners on this issue, keeping, of course, in mind the necessity of observing the UN Charter norms.

Nowadays, the role of the UN as a world organization of universal legitimacy is growing. It is in high demand for promotion of a genuinely equal dialogue by all states of the world, and my country, Russia, vigorously supports this trend. The history of recent years has convincingly proved that unilateral actions in bypass of the United Nations, in violation of the UN Charter could only create new grave problems. It is utterly important for all to take lessons from that experience.

New challenges and threats, � those of international terrorism, illegal drug traffic, organized crime, danger of proliferation of WMD and means of their delivery, regional conflicts, demographic problems, global poverty as well as illegal migration and climate change � have global character, and demand an appropriate response from the whole of international community.

As we see it in Russia, the United Nations is to play a central and coordinating role in our joint efforts to make our world more democratic, more just and through that more secure to live in. �

May I once again greet His Excellency Dr. Cheick Sidi Diarra, Under-Secretary General of United Nations, and on behalf of Colleagues of the Diplomatic Corps of Seoul, as well as on by own behalf, wish him all success in his noble activities for the sake of world peace, security and economic progress, good health, good luck and happiness!