UN, July 23. /TASS/. Ukraine's attempts to abuse judicial procedure at the International Court of Justice have failed time and again, and the ICJ has managed to defend its independence, Anna Yevstigneeva, Russia’s Acting Permanent Representative to the UN has said.

"States are obligated to resolve their differences using the means and mechanisms agreed upon between them. The International Court of Justice, as the UN's principal judicial body, has a special role to play in this system. Despite the unprecedented pressure and attempts to exploit the Court for geopolitical purposes, including through mass interventions by third parties to support one of the parties to a dispute, the International Court has managed to defend its independence," she said at the UN Security Council's open debate on peaceful conflict resolution. "Ukraine's attempts to abuse judicial procedure have repeatedly failed in court. As a result, today Ukraine is a defendant in a case of genocide against Russians and Russian-speaking people."

The Russian diplomat noted that in a situation where "international law is being tested, and individual states are attempting to replace it with a so-called rules-based world order and politicize judicial procedures, protecting the International Court from abuse and manipulation should be the focus of the entire international community."