The United Nations Security Council votes for the resolution requiring Syria to give up it's chemical weapons during the general debate of the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York. EPA/PETER FOLEY
“There is still a rather long road ahead of us, but a decisive step in the right direction has certainly been made,” he told journalists following Friday night's unanimous vote in favour of the resolution by the Security Council.
Komorowski noted the strength of “international public opinion” behind the resolution, and suggested that such support “could open the gates for the disposal of this type of potential threat in other parts of the world.”
The US, Russia, China, France and the UK – the permament members of the UN security council – voted in favour of the resolution, following a proposal from Russia on 9 September.
Earlier this week, Komorowski had criticised the UN Security Council's “indecisive” stance over the last two years.
He claimed that the calamities in Syria, where over 100,000 have died since the troubles began, “could have been prevented if proper decisions by the Security Council would have been taken in a timely fashion.”
Komorowski receives Global Citizen Award
Meanwhile, Poland's president received a Global Citizen Award from the Atlantic Council think-tank at a ceremony at New York's Hotel Edison.
The US think-tank promotes constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs.
Having received the distinction from the hands of Zbigniew Brzezinski, Former US National Security Advisor and a member of the Atlantic Council’s International Advisory Board, Mr Komorowski said that he hoped he could treat it as a gesture of “good memory about the whole Solidarity generation, a mass movement which brought Poland and our part of Europe its longed-for freedom.”
The President stressed that Poland, as a member of NATO, is doing its best to play a major role in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, notably – by lobbying for “the freedom of Ukraine and other countries to the east of the European Union and NATO.”
In his remarks, Zbigniew Brzezinski described Poland as "a democracy which has its successes, an important member of NATO and a well-tested ally of the United States.”
He said that if Ukraine concluded an association agreement with the EU, and Russia later followed in its footsteps, it would be in some way a result of the current policies of Poland and its commitment in the East.
The ceremony attracted some 350 guests and was rounded off by a recital by the cellist Own Young from the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
In its citation, the Atlantic Council says that President Komorowski has been awarded “for his leadership that has not only touched Poland, but also the European Union, its Eastern neighbourhood, and the international community.
"From his tireless fight against Communism to strengthening Poland’s growing economy, he has become a beacon of democracy and economic achievement throughout Europe."
The other recipients of the 2013 Global Citizen Awards are Queen Rania of Jordan and the world-famous conductor Seiji Ozawa. (nh/mk)
Source: PAP