The Federal Government on Friday in Abuja summoned the Russian Ambassador to Nigeria, Alexei Shebarshin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Kirdoda Valerii over the raging conflict between their countries and the need to evacuate Nigerians living there.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, met with the envoys separately behind closed doors.
Onyeama said he told the Russian envoy, Shebarshin that Nigeria as a country would not condone the violation of the territorial integrity of a United Nations member state, a country with which Nigeria has diplomatic relations.
The minister also said that he told Shebarshin that Nigeria wanted Russia to revert to the status quo before the military action and to prioritise diplomacy and dialogue.
“This is really the position of the government and also, that we have 5,600 Nigerians in Ukraine and we are very concerned about what we are hearing and what we are seeing regarding missiles and bombs about the safety of Nigerian citizens there and also that we would like to be able to evacuate them.
“He said that this would be communicated to his headquarters and that obviously, they consider Nigeria a friendly country.
“The Russian envoy also said that they would do nothing to harm Nigerians and assured me that their action is targeted at military installations and that they are not about to start attacking civilian areas and so forth,” the minister said.
Onyeama added that the Russian envoy insisted that civilians were not being targeted and that hopefully, it won’t last long.
Speaking after his meeting with the Ukrainian envoy, Onyeama said the government sympathised with Ukraine regarding its situation as a country and as a people, in view of the heavy bombardment, which has led to loss of lives.
Onyeama told the Ukrainian envoy that Nigeria has more than 5,000 students and citizens in the country and very concerned about their safety and welfare.
“I told the Ukrainian envoy that we want the cooperation of the Government of Ukraine to do whatever is possible to ensure their safety and security and to also seek advice as to how the evacandion can be facilitated,” Onyeama added.
Onyeama also said the envoy told him that that the Ukrainian government has given all the residents and civilians, specific instructions about how to stay safe and the measures to take.
