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UN / UKRAINE GRIFFITHS
STORY: UN / UKRAINE GRIFFITHS
TRT: 02:42
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 18 APRIL 2022, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Tilt up, exterior UN Headquarters
18 APRIL 2022, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, press room dais
3. Med shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“We don't really know the numbers of the people still caught and blocked, and unable to get out from Mariupol. And you would think that the safe evacuation of civilians is something that both sides can agree to, and all sides can agree to, and the world can agree to. And ICRC, as you know, has made daily efforts to do that, but it's always one side or the other to blame. And of course, it's the middle of a very hot battle. And I, it sounds to me, like when the battle is over, and if we can help most of those remaining people out and to safety and to have a future with their families, Mariupol itself is going to be a shocking sight.”
5. Wide shot, dais
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“I'm really impressed by the way Turkey has been able to present itself to both sides as a genuinely valuable and useful host to those talks, with all the difficulties that we saw it since in this last week or so given what's been happening north of Kyiv with all the difficulties that involves and Turkey’s, I think, wisdom has really been considerable in the way in which they've hosted those talks and I'm hoping that we can have Turkey to host my, what I call, the humanitarian contact group, also specifically on humanitarian issues. I'm hoping that that will happen. As I say the Ukrainians have agreed to that, hope the Russians will to.”
7. Wide shot, dais
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“Ceasefires they're not on that horizon right now. But they may be in a couple of weeks. They may be a little bit longer than that. And it will all depend on two things. The war, of course, where that's going - your guess is as good as mine - and the talks because I'm absolutely sure that is only on the basis of some minimum confidence building that might come out of those talks - and I'm being hopeful here, as opposed to objective - that you will see the beginning of the Russian Federation turning its eyes on potential ceasefires. So, we need to watch the talks very, very carefully.”
9. Wide shot, dais
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations:
“When atrocities happen, you can't just keep on going on business as usual. But you need to get back to the table at some point and I hope it's sooner rather than later.”
11. Wide shot, dais
Upon his return from missions in Ukraine and the Russian Federation, the United Nations top humanitarian official today (18 April) said, “we don't really know the numbers of the people still caught and blocked, and unable to get out from Mariupol” and added, “you would think that the safe evacuation of civilians is something that both sides can agree to, and all sides can agree to, and the world can agree to.”
Martin Griffiths, who is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, noted that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) “has made daily efforts to do that, but it's always one side or the other to blame.”
He said, “when the battle is over, and if we can help most of those remaining people out and to safety and to have a future with their families, Mariupol itself is going to be a shocking sight.”
Griffiths said he was “really impressed by the way Turkey has been able to present itself to both sides as a genuinely valuable and useful host.”
He said Turkey’s “wisdom has really been considerable in the way in which they've hosted” negotiations and expressed hope that Turkey will be able to host further talks by the humanitarian contact group. He said, “Ukrainians have agreed to that, hope the Russians will to.”
The humanitarian official said, “ceasefires they're not on that horizon right now. But they may be in a couple of weeks. They may be a little bit longer than that. And it will all depend on two things. The war, of course, where that's going - your guess is as good as mine - and the talks because I'm absolutely sure that is only on the basis of some minimum confidence building that might come out of those talks - and I'm being hopeful here, as opposed to objective - that you will see the beginning of the Russian Federation turning its eyes on potential ceasefires. So, we need to watch the talks very, very carefully.”
He said, “when atrocities happen you can't just keep on going on business as usual. But you need to get back to the table at some point and I hope it's sooner rather than later.”
Griffiths is the first high-level UN official to visit Bucha in Ukraine, accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Olha Stefanishyna.
His mission to Ukraine followed a visit to Moscow last week, where he met Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other high-level Government officials to explore the possible agreements and arrangements for a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine, at the request of the UN Secretary-General.
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