Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda criticized the new UN political map of the world after it showed Crimea separately from Ukraine. The issue was raised during a meeting of the leaders of the Baltic states with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York.
Nauseda said that UN maps must comply with international law and respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and recognized borders of states. He stressed that Lithuania supports efforts for a more accurate and fair cartographic representation of the world, but the UN must consistently adhere to its policy of non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea and other Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.
The new map shows Crimea in gray and differs in color from both Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine objects at the UN General Assembly
During a session of the UN General Assembly, the Ukrainian delegation stated that it could not support the project because of the way the equal-projection map depicts the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia. According to Ukraine, the Equal Earth projection shows parts of Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia in a way that is “unacceptable” and contradicts the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“The occupied territories of Ukraine, I repeat once again, will never, never be recognized“, Ukraine declared at the UN General Assembly.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of a broader debate at the UN over new cartographic standards and how international organizations present disputed territories on official maps.
Sources: Ukrainskaia Pravda, LRT, UN