联合国——联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯周二呼吁叙利亚停火乌克兰在东正教的圣周期间复活节请求四天的“暂停”以允许人道主义援助和撤离。

注意到复活节季来临之际，俄罗斯在乌克兰东部的攻势愈演愈烈，联合国秘书长表示，停火的必要性更加紧迫。

“与未来的恐怖相比，我们迄今看到的对平民的攻击和可怕的伤亡可能会相形见绌。他告诉记者，不能允许这种情况发生，并敦促俄罗斯人和乌克兰人“让枪声平息，为这么多面临直接风险的人开辟一条通往安全的道路。”

他建议暂停从周四开始，这是占乌克兰人口大多数的东正教徒的神圣周四。

古特雷斯表示，目标是打开“人道主义走廊”，让平民能够逃离被围困的地区，让更多的人道主义车队能够进入，特别是前往东部地区的顿涅茨克、卢甘斯克和马里乌波尔——俄罗斯目前攻势的重点——以及南部的赫尔松。这些地区的400多万人以及全国1200万人需要食物、水、药品或其他援助。

乌克兰大使Sergiy Kyslytsya呼吁俄罗斯听从古特雷斯的呼吁。但是俄罗斯副大使德米特里·波利安斯基星期二说，他对这个想法“有点怀疑”。

“我真的不知道在这些问题上与乌克兰人博弈有什么意义，”波利安斯基说。他坚持认为，俄罗斯已经提出建立人道主义走廊，但乌克兰没有使用或滥用它们。

乌克兰一再指责俄罗斯阻碍建立这种安全路线的努力，并指责俄罗斯违反停火，阻碍了安全路线的实施。乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽伦斯基(Volodymyr Zelenskyy)周二在晚间视频讲话中表示，俄罗斯军队正在被围困的港口城市马里乌波尔“阻止任何组织人道主义走廊和救人的努力”。

联合国人道主义事务负责人马丁·格里菲斯(Martin Griffiths)本月早些时候前往乌克兰和俄罗斯，试图评估停火的可能性，并表示他并不乐观。

但是格里菲斯星期一表示，随着东正教复活节假期临近星期天，停火可能“有些成熟”。古特雷斯说，他周二向乌克兰教会和宗教组织理事会(一个跨信仰团体)提出了这个想法。

古特雷斯说:“为期四天的复活节期间应该是团结起来拯救生命和进一步对话以结束乌克兰苦难的时刻。”

该提议是在联合国最近帮助促成也门内战停火两个月之后提出的。停火协议在穆斯林斋月开始时生效。

发言人夏羽·杜哈里奇说，联合国在古特雷斯周二公开呼吁之前就通知了俄罗斯和乌克兰。至于它的前景，“我们总是充满希望，”他说。

据联合国统计，周二晚些时候，墨西哥、法国、英国和其他一些联合国安理会成员国在一次会议上接受了这一提议，该会议关注的是战争期间逃离家园的1200万人。大约500万人去了其他国家，其余的去了乌克兰境内的不同地区。

联合国表示，到目前为止，它已经帮助了超过250万乌克兰人，其中包括一些来自该国其他地区的流离失所者。该组织还帮助跨境逃离的难民。

但是，“没有一堆毯子，没有一笔现金，没有多少药物，都无法阻止死亡和破坏，”联合国难民事务副高级专员凯利·克莱门茨说。

“因此，虽然我们将继续努力提供援助，但我们也需要安理会做好自己的工作，”她说，呼吁成员国“搁置分歧，找到结束这场可怕和毫无意义的战争的方法。”

自2月24日俄罗斯发动进攻以来，该委员会已经就乌克兰问题召开了一系列会议，而该委员会原本是为了恳求莫斯科不要入侵。该委员会旨在成为联合国最强大的机构。

尽管说了这么多，委员会还未能采取任何行动。俄罗斯否决了一项要求其撤军的决议草案。随后，安理会否决了俄罗斯的一项决议，该决议承认乌克兰的人道主义需求，但没有提及入侵。

尽管如此，美国及其在理事会的支持者表示，持续的会议正在向俄罗斯施压，并在国际舞台上孤立俄罗斯。

与此同时，更大的联合国大会投票要求俄罗斯停止战争，指责俄罗斯对乌克兰的人道主义危机负责，并敦促立即停火，并暂停俄罗斯在联合国人权理事会的成员资格。大会决议可能是有影响力的全球舆论声明，但不像安理会决议那样具有法律约束力。

UN chief urges 4-day Easter 'pause' in fighting in Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS -- U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed on Tuesday for a halt in fighting inUkraineduring Orthodox Christians' Holy Week, invokingEasterto plead for a four-day “pause” to allow humanitarian aid and evacuations.

Noting that theEasterseason is coming amid an intensifying Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, the U.N. chief said the need for a cease-fire is all the more urgent.

“The onslaught and terrible toll on civilians we have seen so far could pale in comparison to the horror that lies ahead. This cannot be allowed to happen,” he told reporters, urging Russians and Ukrainians “to silence the guns and forge a path to safety for so many at immediate risk.”

He suggested the pause begin Thursday, which is Holy Thursday for Orthodox Christians, who make up the majority of Ukraine's population.

Guterres said the goal is to open “ humanitarian corridors ” so civilians can escape embattled areas and more humanitarian convoys can get in, particularly to Donetsk, Luhansk and Mariupol in the eastern region known as the Donbas — the focus of Russia's current offensive — and Kherson in the south. More than 4 million people in those areas, and 12 million nationwide, need food, water, medicine or other assistance.

Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called on Russia to heed Guterres' call. But Russian deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said Tuesday he was “a bit skeptical” about the idea.

“I really don’t know what’s the point of entering in the game with Ukrainians on such issues,” Polyanskiy said. He maintained that Russia has offered to create humanitarian corridors, but Ukraine didn’t use them or misused them.

Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of hindering efforts to create such safe routes and of cease-fire violations that prevent their implementation. In his nightly video address Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces were "blocking any attempts to organize a humanitarian corridor and save people” in the besieged port city of Mariupol.

The U.N. humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, traveled to Ukraine and Russia earlier this month to try to gauge the potential for a cease-fire and emerged saying he wasn't optimistic.

But Griffiths suggested Monday there could be “some ripeness” for a cease-fire as the Orthodox Easter holiday approaches Sunday. He broached the idea Tuesday with the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, an interfaith group, Guterres said.

“The four-day Easter period should be a moment to unite around saving lives and furthering dialogue to end the suffering in Ukraine,” Guterres said.

The proposal comes after the U.N. recently helped to foster a two-month truce in Yemen's civil war. The truce took effect as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began.

The U.N. let Russia and Ukraine know before Guterres went public with his appeal Tuesday, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said. As for its prospects, “We are always hopeful,” he said.

Mexico, France, Britain and some other U.N. Security Council members embraced the proposal later Tuesday at a meeting focused on the 12 million people who have fled their homes during the war, by the U.N.'s count. About 5 million have gone to other countries, and the rest to different areas within Ukraine.

The U.N. says it has helped over 2.5 million people in Ukraine so far, including some who were displaced from other parts of the country. The organization is also helping refugees who fled across borders.

But “no pile of blankets, no sum of cash, no amount of medicine, is going to halt the death and destruction,” said Kelly Clements, the U.N.'s deputy high commissioner for refugees.

"So while we will continue our job to deliver aid, we need this council to do its job, too,” she said, calling on members “to put aside your differences and find a way to end this horrific and senseless war.”

Designed to be the U.N.’s most powerful body, the council has held a flurry of sessions on Ukraine since Russia launched its offensive Feb. 24 while the council was meeting to implore Moscow not to invade.

For all the talk, the council hasn’t been able to take any action. Russia vetoed a proposed resolution demanding that its troops withdraw. Then the council defeated a Russian resolution that acknowledged Ukraine’s humanitarian needs but made no mention of the invasion.

Still, the United States and its supporters on the council say the continued sessions are keeping pressure on Russia and isolating it on the international stage.

The larger U.N. General Assembly, meanwhile, has voted to demand that Russia stop the war, to blame Russia for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and urge an immediate cease-fire, and to suspend Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council. Assembly resolutions can be influential statements of global opinion but don't have aren't legally binding, like Security Council actions.