YouSaid · the spoken record

Nebenzia

lines on the record: 5,044
first: 2017-08-02
most recent: 2023-12-30
sittings or episodes: 461
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Much credit in that regard is due not only to the efforts of individual European leaders, but also European bureaucrats, including Mr. Borrell Fontelles, who briefed us today. Thanks to Mr. Borrell Fontelles, we have learned a lot about Europe and the true essence of European diplomacy over the past year. We have learned, for instance, that Europe is a blooming garden surrounded by jungle. We learned that, for European diplomats, the struggle for peace is reduced to an increasing flow of weapons into a conflict zone, despite the fact that, in principle, such actions are explicitly prohibited by EU legislation. Moreover, so as to dispel any doubts about the peace-loving nature of the EU, some of those supplies are being paid for by the European Peace Facility.”
2023-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9268 (2023) · source
“Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): The previous occasion on which the Security Council discussed the question of cooperation between the United Nations and the European Union (EU) was in June 2022, when we stated that, thanks to Brussels’ efforts, EU-Russia relations had plummeted to rock bottom (see S/PV.9065). As it turns out, there is in fact an abyss below that rock bottom, into which not only our relations — which essentially no longer exist — but a united Europe itself continue to plunge. When historians write about the years 2022 and 2023, the most frequently used words in the chapter dedicated to the European Union will probably be “degradation”, “helplessness”, “short-sightedness” and “Russophobia”.”
2023-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9268 (2023) · source
“We very much want to believe that Council members will not disappoint us or their own citizens, and that they will help to determine the truth as to what happened, pursuant to the Charter of our world Organization.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“In that context, we will strive to identify and hold accountable those who have encroached on international peace and security. Therefore, we look forward to our proposal being supported. Experts are discussing the text at the moment. After the first round of discussion, however, we have the impression that Western experts are not interested in having an objective international investigation in any case, which of course only increases our suspicions. The approach of Council members to our proposed draft resolution and their interest, or lack thereof, in finding the perpetrators and bringing them to justice will indeed be decisive in terms of our further steps in the context of this act of sabotage.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“But the Secretary-General is somebody we still generally trust, and we hope the Council does too, so that is why we propose that he should be put in charge of the investigation. We have circulated in the General Assembly and the Security Council an address of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation containing a corresponding request, as well as notes from the Russian embassies to the Foreign Ministries of Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the United States on that matter. Anyone who wishes to consult those documents is welcome to do so. If our American colleagues have nothing to fear, and if they have no doubt in the fact that the conclusions of their compatriots are wrong, then that means the United States does not risk anything, and soon we will be able to confirm that.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“However, in this case too, the political will of their leadership is lacking. More precisely, it is simply absent. Therefore, unfortunately, we have no other way of getting to the truth. The so-called investigations being carried out by the Scandinavian countries and Germany are not only non-transparent, but it is also quite clear that they are aimed solely at covering their tracks and protecting their big brother in America. We are not allowed to join in them, and all our requests are being arrogantly ignored. Incidentally, we find it rather odd that those countries taking part in the investigations did not request to participate in today’s meeting. With other meetings, we see a whole line of those willing to take the floor. And we of course do not, and cannot, have any trust in them.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“The leadership of those States had ignored the communications that were sent in October 2022 from the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Mr. Mishustin, regarding the participation in the investigation of representatives of Russia’s relevant federal executive bodies and of representatives of the Gazprom company. Similar requests made by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Russia were also declined. Since we are talking about a crime committed with the assistance of an explosive device, which therefore falls under the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings of 15 December 1997, we do expect that the States that have something to do with the incident, primarily the United States, Norway, Denmark and Sweden, will uphold their obligations under the Convention.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“As Council members are aware, we have presented a draft resolution requesting the Secretary- General to conduct an independent international investigation to verify the facts that Seymour Hersh and other independent journalists have put forward. We felt compelled to do so because we have significant doubts about the effectiveness, transparency and impartiality of the investigations currently being carried out in a number of national jurisdictions. And we do not see any willingness on the part of our partners to cooperate. We have taken note of the letter circulated today by the Permanent Representatives of Germany, Denmark and Sweden stating that the authorities of those countries have informed Russia about the progress in the investigation. In reality, the situation is very different.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“And we are not trying to make accusations based on something being highly likely, as was done, for example, by the representatives of the United Kingdom here in this Chamber, who used supposition and conjecture that run counter to facts and common sense in an unconvincing attempt to accuse us five years ago of poisoning the Skripals. Regarding the Nord Stream explosion, there is no doubt as to the motive for the crime, the perpetrator or the manner in which the crime was carried out. That is even better than the smoking gun all the American detectives in Hollywood blockbusters dream of finding. With such evidence, no lawyer would take on the defence of our American colleagues and there would be no doubt whatsoever in the jury’s verdict. But we are not here in order to set up a trial in the Security Council.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“The chances of that occurring are very high, especially if the perpetrators of the Nord Stream explosion are not found and brought to justice, and if the countries that are behind it do not compensate the affected countries for the damage they caused in a manner stipulated under international law and basic principles of justice. Then, and only then, would we have a chance to avert this state of chaos. Everything is in the hands of the members, and the choice is also being made today, during today’s Security Council meeting. Contrary to what our former Western partners will say today, we are not involved in spreading disinformation in the Council.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“Along with their allies, who run with the herd, they call that the rules-based order, where they themselves dictate the rules. Still, in the past, they did not go so far as to blow up foreign pipelines owned by States with which the United States is not at war. But now that day has arrived, and it may well be a precursor of an era in which cross- border and transcontinental communications become legitimate targets for operations aimed at weakening various States, which will be, as you can imagine, an era of chaos and unimaginable damage for the whole of humankind.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“Of course, we have become inured to the fact that our American colleagues place themselves above the law, while claiming, in fact, that they are the law. Only they can interfere in the internal affairs of other States and carry out unconstitutional coups and acts of aggression against independent States with impunity. I would like to remind members of the Security Council that, as early as the end of the Cold War, according to a document prepared in 2022 by the United States Congressional Research Service, there have been 251 cases of using United States armed forces abroad. They are then the only ones who are allowed to kill and maim civilians in other countries while refusing to hand over the perpetrators to the international justice system.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“We now know with an extreme degree of probability not only who blew up our gas pipeline, but how it was blown up. Because of those facts, we can say that those events were the result of the use of force, which runs contrary to the purposes of the United Nations. In my statement, I will not dwell on other details revealed by Mr. Hersh’s ground-breaking investigation, which our two briefers, Jeffrey Sachs and Ray McGovern, spoke about in detail earlier. Let me just say that the breadth of the information that he has gathered is amazing. His previous professional experience and impeccable journalistic reputation leave no doubt that the American journalist is telling the truth. Not only is that striking, but so is their level of cynicism and confidence in their own impunity with which they committed that unprecedented crime.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“Since then, there have been more examples of officials in Washington gloating over the Nord Stream bombing, not least thanks to the well-known Russophobe and the godmother of the anti-constitutional coup in Ukraine, Ms. Nuland. But, of course, we would not have requested calling this meeting just because of that. The fact is that, on 8 February, thanks to the well- known American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, we learned not only that the United States did it, but also how they did it with the complicity of their Norway NATO ally. Based on the facts and witness testimonies, he has convincingly proven that, during the NATO BALTOPS exercise in the summer of 2022, American divers planted explosives under the Nord Stream pipelines that the Norwegians activated three months later on 26 September 2022.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“The United States leadership made several statements, the meaning of which boiled down to the fact that, if Russia continued to act contrary to the wishes of the United States, then the Nord Stream pipelines would be destroyed. In his inappropriate Russophobic tirades on social media, a Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland, Mr. Sikorski, who was privy to something, thanked the United States. That was in addition to the text message that former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May, who hates our country no less, carelessly sent out. The United States, however, has strongly denied — and, incidentally, continues to deny, conscious of potential consequences — its involvement in the sabotage against vital international pipeline infrastructure.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We have gathered together today for a very important meeting. Although it has been convened like others, it is significantly different in tone from the previous meeting (S/PV.9144) on the sabotage against the Nord Stream pipelines, which was convened on the 30 September 2022. As many of us recall, even then it was clear in principle who could be behind the act of international terrorism, which is exactly how we define those events. The Russian investigative authorities had already initiated criminal proceedings under the relevant article of our country’s criminal code.”
2023-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9266 (2023) · source
“And we have learned the true price of their values after they turned a blind eye to the formation of the most brutal and Russophobic dictatorship in Ukraine, destroying the slightest manifestation of freedom of speech and dissenting political views. So far, we have no reason to believe that they are capable of breaking this vicious circle of lies and self-deception. And the more tall tales we hear from them today, including that Russia did not honour the Minsk agreements, which is contrary to the obvious facts, the more people will understand that we had no choice but to protect our country — to protect it from the West — in addition to our identity and future.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“They are not interested in building a system of European and Euro-Atlantic security together with Russia, because in their view such systems can be aimed only against Russia. We have no trust left in them, and we can no longer believe any of their promises — with regard to NATO’s non-expansion to the East, in addition to their unwillingness to interfere in our internal affairs and their desire to live in peace and good neighbourliness. Western countries have demonstrated fully that it is impossible to negotiate with them. And they have shown how treacherous they are by creating a neo-Nazi and nationalist hive on our borders and then stirring it up.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“Zelenskyy, was elected in 2019 with a notable majority precisely because he promised the country national dialogue, the protection of the Russian language and inter-ethnic harmony. However, once he was elected, he continued his course of confrontation with Russia, abandoning his election programme in order to serve the geopolitical ambitions of the West. I would now like to address the Western members of the Security Council. Obviously, in the future we will not be able to live as we did in the past. The extent to which they have already displayed their deep-seated Russophobia shows us that the only thing really driving them is that Russophobia, and their desire to destroy our country, by the hands of others if possible.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“That is what United Nations officials have come to — wilfully ignoring violations of the Minsk agreements and refraining from assessments that could anger the collective West. And today many are saying that the United Nations should definitely play a mediation role between Russia and Ukraine. But given everything I have mentioned, does the Council think we can trust such mediation? Where is the guarantee that the Secretariat will behave differently now? The failure to implement the Minsk agreements has proven to be a tragedy for Ukraine, brought about by the criminal policies of Ukraine’s leadership, which have been encouraged by the collective West. We are convinced that the Ukrainian people are yet to give their assessment of those crimes. After all, the current leader of the country, Mr.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“We did not hear any calls for direct dialogue with Donbas, as is required by resolution 2202 (2015). Supposedly, the United Nations did not have the authority to do so. But what does a unanimously adopted Security Council resolution grant if not authority? At the same time, since the very first day of the special military operation, the Secretariat, in lockstep with Western countries, has continued to spread anti-Russia clichés and level direct accusations against Russia while claiming to be guided by resolutions of the General Assembly, which were — and let me underscore this — non-consensus resolutions. And one of them contains a reference to the Secretary-General’s position, which runs counter to all common sense, the United Nations tradition and even the mere rules of decorum.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“How, when and at whose behest did they become hostages of egregiously Russophobic Poles, the Baltic States and other new Europeans, who have made no secret of their plans to dismember Russia and seize its natural resources? If Council members do not believe me, they should listen to Polish Member of the European Parliament Anna Fotyga, who published a manifesto on the subject on the Euractiv website. We would also like to draw attention to the role of another body whose leadership we wanted to hear from today but unfortunately could not. Since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014, the Secretariat has buried its head in the sand, taking an ostrich-like stance. We did not hear any direct criticism of Kyiv from its representatives, even when they were waging a real war against their citizens in the eastern regions.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“As a result, the Special Monitoring Mission was essentially turned into a partisan tool to protect the Kyiv regime and put pressure on the Donetsk and Luhansk authorities, instead of one for engaging in dialogue. Such approaches have jeopardized all the OSCE efforts to facilitate a peaceful settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Does Mr. Sajdik, with his vast experience, not understand that? And does he not realize that because of the mutual covering for one another and continuous lying, in which the OSCE structures have been assigned a very specific role, the credibility of European multilateral institutions has been undermined and plummeted to a critically low level?”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“After all, it is now quite clear that the Special Monitoring Mission failed in its tasks. Moreover, in recent years, the Special Monitoring Mission has generally descended to highly politicized and one-sided approaches. For example, contrary to its mandate, the Special Monitoring Mission ended its contacts locally with the leadership and the majority of officials in the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, demanding that Donetsk and Luhansk publicly affirm their loyalty to Kyiv. The OSCE officials turned a blind eye to Ukraine’s increasing Russophobia and aggressive Ukrainian nationalism. And facts that were inconvenient for Kyiv and the Ukrainian armed forces, such as the murder of civilians by Ukrainian formations in Donbas, were often whitewashed or hidden from the eyes of the general public in confidential reports.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“The revelations by Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelenskyy characterize that criminal scheme very eloquently. The constituent elements of the crime are clear, and the motive is clear. And the method chosen was to flood the ears of the international community with absurd claims that it is Russia that is not implementing the Minsk agreements, when, as everyone knows, it is not even mentioned in them. We have a question for Mr. Sajdik, and I ask him to answer it frankly, if he is able to do that. Does the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in general, and its Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine in particular, understand that they are simply being used, knowingly or not, for the purpose of this cheap charade? Do they understand their guilt and responsibility in Vienna?”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“Why is it that, while they repeat every year in this Chamber their support for the Minsk process and sign documents with us, they hid their true intentions, and they knew perfectly well that the Minsk process was just a smokescreen for them to rearm the Kyiv regime and prepare it for war against Russia in the name of their geopolitical interests? The recent confessions by François Hollande, Angela Merkel and Boris Johnson leave no doubt that the West was only imitating a constructive process. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s statement that the alliance had been preparing for war with Russia since 2014 revealed a plan for the geopolitical containment and weakening of my country, which is being attempted to be implemented before our eyes.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“I do not know about other Council members, but we are extremely disappointed by that. It undermines the authority of the Security Council, which has failed to carry out its primary function of maintaining international peace and security. I propose that today we have a serious talk about what went wrong and draw lessons from the past. I would like to ask our former Western partners, who habitually recite mantras about how everything is Russia’s fault, to lift their eyes from the papers before them and answer one simple question.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): Eight years ago, on 17 February 2015, the Security Council adopted resolution 2202 (2015), which approved the package of measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements. The resolution made those agreements the only legal basis for resolving the intra-Ukrainian conflict, and through the Security Council, it received the support of the entire international community. Since then, the Council has met regularly, and primarily at our initiative, to consider the implementation of the Minsk agreements. In 2018, presidential statement S/PRST/2018/12 was adopted in support of that process. And yet the Minsk process failed and became a clear Security Council failure in the area of preventive diplomacy, which many of us call one of the most important goals of this organ.”
2023-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9262 (2023) · source
“Poroshenko saying that Western countries, under the guise of the Minsk agreements, have been arming Ukraine for eight years and preparing it for war with Russia, such assertions will not mislead anyone. We will make sure that never again in the future will there be a threat from Ukrainian territory to Russia or its allies or to Russian culture or the Russian language. And never again will there be the glorification of Hitler’s accomplices, who murdered hundreds of thousands of Jews, Russians, Poles and Ukrainians. That is what should form the basis for any agreement. The so-called “Zelenskyy formulas” are simply a mockery of the concept of a peace plan.”
2023-02-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9256 (2023) · source
“While, as recently as yesterday (see S/PV.9255) in this Chamber, our former Western partners beat their chests and declared that they would not allow the use of chemical weapons by anyone, we have no doubt that they will ignore that most recent war crime of the Zelenskyy regime. Those are the double standards of today’s West. Our Western colleagues will now begin to argue that, according to them, they have no other choice but to help Ukraine defend itself. They claim that, otherwise, the country will allegedly be threatened with destruction and de-Ukrainization, although we have never set ourselves such goals. I hope that, given the recent admissions by Mrs. Merkel, Mr. Hollande, Mr. Johnson and Mr.”
2023-02-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9256 (2023) · source
“All those facts are recorded by us, and all those involved will not escape punishment for those crimes. I would also like to mention the overall responsibility of the Western backers of the Kyiv regime for the inhumane methods of warfare practised by their wards and the flagrant violations of international humanitarian law, ranging from torturing prisoners of war to deploying air defence systems in residential areas. Just the other day, for example, footage of the use of chemical warfare agents by the Armed Forces of Ukraine was disseminated on the Ukrainian news, complete with blusterous commentary. Our relevant authorities are currently reviewing that report.”
2023-02-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9256 (2023) · source
“Today I will not go into detail regarding the proliferation of resold Ukrainian weapons around the world. We have already discussed that at length. Now we see attempts to sweep those stories under the carpet so as not to alarm the public in Western States. But that does not mean that the problem has been resolved. On the contrary, it is only growing and becoming increasingly ugly. Suffice it to recall the President of Nigeria’s admission that weapons from Ukraine have begun to fall into the hands of terrorist groups in the Sahel on a regular basis. I will just mention the responsibility of the countries supplying long-range artillery and missile systems for the deaths of the civilians of Donbas, living in places which the gunners of the Armed Forces of Ukraine could not previously reach.”
2023-02-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9256 (2023) · source
“While we have already destroyed more than 7,000 tanks, owned by, or supplied to, Ukraine, since the beginning of the special military operation a year ago, 100, 200 or 300 new tanks will not make a difference, as they say. I would like to once again note that the West is directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict, not only by providing weapons and intelligence, but also by sending mercenaries and military personnel, without whom Kyiv simply cannot operate some Western weapons. In a number of the most Russophobic capitals, which had lost their sense of reality long before our special military operation, they even call for NATO troops to be deployed there to save Ukraine or for the use of NATO border military infrastructure for operations against our country and its allies.”
2023-02-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9256 (2023) · source
“The task of our former Western partners is to ensure that that continues in that way for as long as possible, regardless of the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I will leave out the moral aspect of that story. Unfortunately, we know that the countries of the collective West have long since lost their morality and conscience. What is there to talk about if the current Kyiv regime is the handiwork of a number of Western countries, implemented since at least 2014, for specific geopolitical purposes to weaken and undermine Russia? I also do not want anyone to reduce our statement today solely to a call to stop the flow of Western weapons before it is too late. Although that is important, above all for Ukraine itself, we are well aware that, until the Kyiv regime goes completely bankrupt on the battlefield, that flow will not dry up.”
2023-02-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9256 (2023) · source
“In that way, 2022 became one of the most profitable years for the Swiss defence industry. In the first half of that year alone, exports reached 517 million Swiss francs. In order not to miss out on such profits, but to boost them, the Parliament of that country is considering an initiative to allow third countries to re-export Swiss- made weapons five years after their purchase. In that pursuit of profit, the modern Swiss clearly do not lag behind their predecessors of 80 years ago, when Swiss anti-aircraft systems and Oerlikon cannons armed the air defence and air forces of the Third Reich and militaristic Japan, and provided them with a continuous supply of ammunition. Such is pragmatic neutrality. In short, a business scheme has taken shape, in which Ukraine plays the role of a private military company.”
2023-02-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9256 (2023) · source
“Lawyer and politician Robert Kennedy — the nephew of the former head of the White House, John F. Kennedy — recently said that. The situation is more or less the same for other major arms suppliers — in other words, Western countries have found a pretext for a significant increase in their defence budgets and the revenues of their own defence companies. As a result, Ukraine generally receives outdated weapons, which the Russian army pulverizes, while the armies of NATO countries are modernized, and Western defence enterprises make huge profits, lulling taxpayers with the need to help Ukraine. Poland and Czechia are becoming its military repair centres, and, according to The Wall Street Journal, they are also making huge profits from that. The former neutral States are not far behind.”
2023-02-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9256 (2023) · source
“How does the State of Ukraine owe so much to such private arms companies? The answer is, first, artillery ammunition; secondly, the Stinger man-portable air defence system; and, thirdly, the infamous HIMARS. Thanks to a continuous supply chain and new orders, the shares of those corporations increased by more than 20 per cent in the last three months of 2022 alone. In addition, American businessmen have a veritable weapons testing ground, where, at the cost of the lives of Russians and Ukrainians, new types of weapons are tested, modified and improved. How can arms manufacturers refuse such opportunities and such profits? Moreover, the billions of dollars allocated by the United States to Ukraine do not even leave the United States, but are sent directly to contractors from military companies.”
2023-02-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9256 (2023) · source
“It is not about the new calls by a number of Russophobic politicians to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, of which, as we all understand, Ukraine itself is not capable. The problem is that the leverage that could influence the search for a peaceful solution to the conflict concerning Ukraine has ended up in the hands of Western arms companies and corporations. As the Council well understands, they are the last to be interested in peace. The invitation, which was leaked to the Internet, from the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States of America to a reception in December 2022 marking the thirty-first anniversary of the founding of the Armed Forces of Ukraine featured the logos of four American defence industry companies sponsoring the reception: Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Pratt & Whitney and Lockheed Martin.”
2023-02-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9256 (2023) · source
“We just heard a poignant analysis of what is happening from Roger Waters, one of the most prominent activists of the modern anti-war movement. Mr. Waters has consistently spoken out against wars and violence for several decades. That theme permeates his world-famous songs. The fact that he wanted to speak to us testifies to the extreme concern of the international creative intelligentsia and people in general about where our world is heading. In our view, Mr. Waters and his colleagues have every reason to be concerned. It is not even a matter of politicians, such as German Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock, admitting that NATO is waging a proxy war with Russia. Indeed, it is.”
2023-02-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9256 (2023) · source
“Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): I think that it would not be an exaggeration to say that, since our most recent meeting on the topic of deliveries of Western weapons to Ukraine in December (see S/PV.9216), the demand for a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis among States Members of the United Nations, and, indeed, the international community in general, has significantly increased, although that is not evident in the Chamber today. For some reason, the countries of the European Union. which usually do not miss an opportunity to shine on their domestic television screens, did not request to participate in this meeting. Apparently, the explanation for that is that they are not at all interested in the pursuit of peace.”
2023-02-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9256 (2023) · source
“The situation involving the fabrications of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission report on Douma, including the sanctions against the inspectors who were not afraid of telling the truth, remains a stain on the reputation of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. We have once again seen today that the Director-General has nothing to say when confronted by glaring facts. The Syrian chemical dossier, not least because of him, is becoming a vivid example of, and a synonym for, lies, fabrications and settling political scores on behalf of Western States, which are being served obediently by the OPCW Technical Secretariat. We have seen that very clearly once again today.”
2023-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9255 (2023) · source
“Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): I would like to once again state that, despite Mr. Arias’ detailed explanations in the course of this meeting today, he has continued to fail to provide a substantive answer to any of the questions asked not just by us, but also by the community of experts who are outraged by the unprecedented violations of the work of the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). We have not heard anything except assurances of the highest standards of the OPCW investigations. I wonder whether Mr. Arias can differentiate the information that the OPCW was provided by the White Helmets from the evidence first collected by the Douma inspectors and subsequently rejected by the OPCW Technical Secretariat, which was ordered to rewrite its initial report.”
2023-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9255 (2023) · source
“Given the way in which its insinuations have been rapidly picked up by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, which were also quick to dump out yet another load of anti-Russian accusations in a joint statement by their foreign affairs departments, there can be no doubt as to the politicization of the document. We are hoping that Mr. Arias will answer our questions here at this meeting in the Chamber, without attempting to limit the discussion to closed consultations. We have nothing to hide, and he should have no secrets from members of the Security Council or from the States parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention. Furthermore, we expect that in future he will find the time to appear before the Security Council when it considers it necessary to invite him.”
2023-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9255 (2023) · source
“That was ignored, despite the evidence for it, such as traces of distinctive paint in the building lobby from where the cylinders were carried up. Nevertheless, Mr. Arias, as the head of an important international organization, which must observe the principle of impartiality and neutrality, not only voluntarily signed the IIT report but also commented on its release with the words, “The world now knows the facts. It is up to the international community to take action at the OPCW and beyond”. Does that mean that he is deliberately ignoring the information provided by us and other countries to the OPCW, and is openly siding with the Western countries that sponsored the White Helmets and continue to advance their own anti-Syrian agenda? Is he able to disclose the sources of the information on which the IIT report is concocted?”
2023-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9255 (2023) · source
“In the area of the breach in the roof, there were no traces of the steel reinforcements that would have had to be sticking out after such a heavy blow. No signs of damage were found on one of the cylinders, despite the fact that it had allegedly been dropped from the air. And the causal relationships have been upended too. How, for example, could the IIT have analysed the remnants of the cylinders used in the so-called chemical attack if both had been destroyed by an Israeli air strike on the Syrian airbase? The actual explanation of what transpired is that the chlorine cylinders were simply brought into a residential building by representatives of the notorious White Helmets to stage the incident.”
2023-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9255 (2023) · source
“No mention is made of the fact that none of the residents of the affected building identified the people who had allegedly died of chlorine poisoning as their neighbours, or of the testimony of numerous witnesses that the bodies of the victims had been transported from nearby areas ahead of time and were found to have bullet and explosion wounds rather than signs of chlorine intoxication. The scandal surrounding the White Helmets is also being ignored because the staged version of events is not being disputed. The interpretation of what happened simply does not correspond to elementary laws of physics. In some incomprehensible way, a 100-kilogramme cylinder broke through the roof and ricocheted off a bed without damaging the building.”
2023-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9255 (2023) · source
“Bustani, expressed the need for an investigation in that regard. Furthermore, as far as we can tell, the main inconsistencies in the FFM’s report have been directly incorporated into the new IIT report, which also has new inconsistencies. After all, lies beget lies, and Mr. Arias is condoning them. According to the current version of the event, the victims seem to have rushed to the area with the highest concentration of toxic chemicals, even though people usually try to flee a contaminated area.”
2023-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9255 (2023) · source
“Evidence of an incident can apparently be sent to the OPCW by mail and anonymously, because if it fits the right narrative, it will be considered “reasonable grounds” for drawing conclusions. We would still like to hear from Mr. Arias clear answers about the outrageous scandal that occurred during the preparation of the FFM report on the Douma incident, the final version of which was basically rewritten under pressure from Western countries, in particular with regard to chemical, toxicological and ballistic tests and witness testimony. The inspectors who disagreed with such a blatant forgery, which directly undermines the principles of the organization, were, with his permission, removed and persecuted and became victims of genuine harassment. Why has he still not taken any action to address that situation? Even his predecessor, Mr.”
2023-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9255 (2023) · source
“Have the working principles of the Technical Secretariat changed? Are the provisions of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons no longer its guiding principles? I would like to recall that the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic stated clearly in its 2013 report (see S/2013/553) that, “the independent verification of information on the use of chemical weapons is not possible in the absence of data on their means of delivery and of biometric samples collected and analysed in accordance with the principles of chain of custody.” Now the organization freely uses information from open sources and third parties.”
2023-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9255 (2023) · source
“At the same time, the Western media continued its propaganda campaign blaming Damascus for the incident. The OPCW came under pressure, which resulted in the fabricated FFM report. It was fabricated because its original version did not contain any conclusions about the culpability of Damascus. We have repeatedly asked Mr. Arias to comment on that, but we have not received any clear answers either during our meetings or in closed consultations or in any other format. I will remind Mr. Arias of our questions. First, we would like to know, on what grounds are the IIT and the FFM violating the fundamental principle of the chain of custody? What motivates Mr. Arias to sign documents whose conclusions are based on information received from a third party, such as the White Helmets, who make no secret of their bias?”
2023-02-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9255 (2023) · source