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

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“Another very important area of work in Syria that affects both the political process and efforts to improve the humanitarian situation is the cooperation between Moscow and Ankara on the implementation of the 22 October memorandum in order to prevent armed clashes in the north-east of the country. Russia continues to assist in establishing contacts between the Kurds and Damascus and mitigating the damage caused by the illegal occupation of the area and the dangerous experiment in demographic engineering that was staged there. In conclusion, I would like to briefly touch upon the following story. Yesterday, Washington, D.C., published its vision for a Middle East settlement. I will not go into details, as the document requires further review and warrants separate discussion in the future.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“At the same time, we are concerned about the spread of terrorists from Idlib into other parts of Syria and their infiltration into other countries, such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. We would also like to draw attention to the note of the Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations, as well as media reports, regarding the plans of terrorists to organize yet another round of provocations and to use chemical weapons in Syria. We find those signals very disturbing, since we know full well how such actions are used for military and political purposes.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“Combating terrorism in Syria is also a priority, and Idlib remains one of terrorism’s last strongholds in the country, with civilians being held hostage there. The Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham fighters and their subordinates are not honouring the ceasefire agreements. In early January, a ceasefire was announced upon the proposal of Russia and Turkey. However, terrorists violate it daily. They attack and shell the Syrian army and civilian facilities, as well as the Russian air base in Khmeimim. Naturally, such armed provocations cannot go unanswered. We have long pointed out the need to expeditiously separate members of the armed opposition, if any remain in Idlib, from the terrorists.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“We expressed our full support for Mr. Pedersen’s efforts. The visit by Mr. Pedersen currently under way in Damascus also seems very important to us, as there he will have an opportunity to discuss the prospects for another round of Constitutional Committee consultations. Like the Special Envoy, we are not dramatizing the fact that just a couple of months after the establishment of that body, no momentous results have been achieved. That is absolutely natural. We believe that it is counterproductive to dramatize the situation and designate the guilty parties. We will do all we can to help create the conditions necessary to enable progress at the next session of the drafting commission, to be held at the earliest opportunity.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“In the interests of advancing that process, the Constitutional Committee was established under the auspices of the United Nations and began its work in Geneva on 30 October 2019. Its establishment was made possible through the critical help of the Astana format. We value Special Envoy Pedersen and his team’s approach to creating the necessary conditions for the negotiators to develop a culture of dialogue and mutual trust, which is an important and indispensable component for achieving success. Constructive and useful meetings among the Special Envoy, Minister for Foreign Affairs Lavrov and Minister of Defence Shoygu took place in Moscow on 24 January. Discussions focused on how to step up joint work both in Geneva and through the Astana format, in which Russia, Turkey and Iran are successfully working together.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We thank the Deputy Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, Ms. Khawla Matar, for her briefing. This morning we had an opportunity to discuss the humanitarian situation in Syria (see S/PV.8707). We can only reiterate our call on Western donors to reject the practice of double standards with regard to whether to the provision of humanitarian assistance. Despite the trend marked by the stabilization of the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, much work remains to be done on a number of fronts. The political process requires the most attention. Russia remains committed to the principle of reaching a peaceful settlement to the Syrian crisis through political and diplomatic means.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“We call on the United Nations and members of the international community to join post-conflict recovery projects and to lift unilateral sanctions in the interest of normalizing the lives of Syrians — that is, of course, if members of the Council really do care about the well-being of Syrian civilians.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“The statistics were provided at the meeting of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Syria Humanitarian Task Force in Geneva. What is stable is the financing of the humanitarian response plan for Syria, which remains at around 60 per cent. The interesting point is that as more territory comes under the control of the Syrian Government, the fewer donor contributions there are for the humanitarian response plan. The humanitarian principles of humanity and impartiality were mentioned; where are they? We agree with those who have said today that the humanitarian issue in Syria has been unacceptably politicized, including in post-conflict recovery. Some of our colleagues brag about politicizing it by imposing more requirements on the Syrian authorities.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“As we have already said, an alternative to Al-Yarubiyah and the ability to deliver humanitarian assistance to Al-Hasakah governorate exist. We would like to hear about the steps that have been taken to that end and the results that have been achieved. I would now like to offer a few statistics, which speak for themselves. One million people in Idlib are covered by cross-border assistance. The remaining 10 million people in Syria are covered by regular humanitarian programmes, as confirmed in the latest Secretary-General report (S/2019/949). With respect to the alleged lack of cooperation on the part of the Syrian Government, the number of humanitarian convoys agreed to with Damascus is steadily growing each month.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“The resolution explicitly and implicitly focuses the United Nations on cooperation and finding ways to resolve problems with the legitimate authorities of Syria, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 46/182, as it should, and international law. Instead of whipping up passions here, we would recommend that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs establish, as quickly as possible, effective cooperation with the legitimate authorities in Damascus. That is in the interest of the United Nations and in our own interest. We expect that the February United Nations report will provide information about alternative routes for the delivery of humanitarian assistance from Syrian territory.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“Humanitarian convoys cannot resolve the problems that Rukban is facing. Furthermore, assistance often does not reach refugees but instead remains in the hands of the militants. Efforts must be continued to fully evacuate people from the camps. Mr. Lowcock today did not give a particularly positive assessment of the cross-line assistance. We recall that the lion’s share of assistance to and within Syria is cross-line aid, including to the north-east in Al-Hasakah governorate. All humanitarian agencies of the United Nations, apart from the World Health Organization, deliver humanitarian assistance to the north-east from Syrian territory. I would also like to address the recent adoption of resolution 2504 (2020).”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“The situation in the area beyond the Euphrates has improved, thanks in large part to the implementation of the Russian-Turkish memorandum of 22 October 2019. Regular Russian-Turkish patrols have been established on agreed border points. Moreover, Russian forces are undertaking energetic efforts to rebuild destroyed infrastructure, provide medical care to those in need and deliver food and basic necessities. The most acute problem, in addition to Idlib, remains the humanitarian situation in the major refugee and IDP camps located in American-controlled areas: Rukban in the south and Al Hol in the north-east. The United Nations plan to evacuate the remaining residents of the camps has been delayed for five months due to the refusal of the fighters to give the necessary security guarantees to United Nations personnel.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“They now run into the dozens, if not hundreds, in Idlib province alone. The escalation in Idlib is due not to the operations of the Syrian forces but rather to the intentional provocations carried out by terrorists. Three humanitarian corridors have been operationalized since 13 January to facilitate the withdrawal of civilians from the de-escalation zone. Temporary accommodation centres in the province of Hama have been prepared for persons without permanent residence. Unfortunately, terrorists continue to use the practice of human shields, holding civilians hostage and preventing them from escaping and shelling checkpoints. That is further proof of the position that we have repeatedly stated that the problem in Idlib cannot be resolved as long as it is overrun by terrorists who have been recognized as such by the Security Council.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“The number of those attacks is as many as 60 incidents a day. Naturally, such armed provocations, which have already claimed dozens of lives and injured hundreds of civilians this month alone, cannot go unanswered. The Syrian Government forces have been forced to respond to the terrorist attacks, conduct limited operations to counteract the terrorist activity and mitigate the threats coming from Idlib. Today, we have heard statements that duplicate one another about schools, hospitals, markets and internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps being bombed. We were given supposedly accurate figures for the number of people killed and injured. We have heard that before, word for word. I again wonder where that reliable data is coming from. Where were so many medical facilities that have already been bombed found?”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“In that regard, we note the active participation of the representatives of the relevant United Nations bodies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and non-governmental humanitarian organizations in providing assistance to the population in coordination with the Syrian authorities. The situation in territories that are not under the control of the Syrian Government remains extremely worrying — in Idlib, on the east bank of the Euphrates river and in the area around Al-Tanf. At the beginning of January, the Russian and Turkish forces again tried to establish a ceasefire in Idlib. However, radical groups led by the recognized terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham once again ignored that and continued to shell positions of the Syrian forces and nearby towns, particularly Aleppo.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We listened carefully to the briefing by Under-Secretary-General Mark Lowcock but, clearly, he did not have time to stay and listen to us and the Syrian representative. That is a shame. I am sure that it would have been useful for him to hear what we have to say, and I hope that his colleagues will convey to him exactly what we have to say. Despite the continuing trend towards stabilizing the situation in a large part of the territory, the return to Syria of a peaceful life and the restoration of the socioeconomic infrastructure, there still remain hotbeds of tension and the population needs humanitarian assistance.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“We must revitalize the work of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators, namely, the Russian Federation, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations. Moreover, we must overcome the inter-Palestinian divide between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In this regard, we welcome the confirmed readiness of all stakeholders to participate in general elections on the basis of previous inter-Palestinian agreements. We trust that these elections will be held on schedule in all the Palestinian territories. Finally, we commend the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which is helping to stabilize the situation, and we call upon all stakeholders to continue to support the Agency.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“We reject the fait accompli policy — the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, the transfer of an embassy to Jerusalem, declarations of plans to annex the Jordan Valley, settlement activity and the demolition of Palestinian homes — which seeks to undermine the internationally recognized basis for a Middle East settlement. Such actions only undermines efforts to achieve a lasting settlement in the Middle East on the basis of the two-State principle. Given those circumstances, it is more important than ever to mobilize the efforts of the international community to support the legal framework for a Middle East settlement, including the relevant Security Council resolutions, the Madrid principles and the Arab Peace Initiative.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“Notwithstanding our attention to the aforementioned raging conflicts, we cannot overlook the principal long-standing issue in the Middle East, namely, the Palestinian-Israeli settlement. Everyone who is familiar with the history of the region understands that absent a settlement to the Palestinian problem, lasting peace in the region cannot be achieved. However, solutions that are presented as modern and innovative merely stymie our efforts to resolve the Palestinian issue. Attempts to erode the existing international legal framework for a settlement will not help matters.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“But these are only preliminary measures; they now must be underpinned by meaningful efforts, primarily within the United Nations and through Special Representative Ghassan Salamé. The Security Council has yet to consider the final agreements of the Berlin process, but the main premise for settlement is that it is up to the Libyans to decide the fate of their country. We continue to hope that, thanks to the efforts of the Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, progress will also be made on a Yemeni settlement. In addition, we support the need for a speedy normalization of the situation in Iraq and Lebanon by harnessing mechanisms for broad nationwide dialogue. The establishment of calm in these countries is necessary for the entire region.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“We have achieved significant milestones in the Syria track. Thanks to the collective efforts of the participants in the Astana format, we have realized de-escalation and stabilization in much of Syria. On 30 October, the Constitutional Committee began its work. In order to reach a lasting peace in Syria and to ensure the return of millions of Syrian refugees to their homes, we must focus efforts on rebuilding the country’s economy without political constraints. On Sunday, in Berlin, an important step forward was taken towards a political settlement in Libya. Furthermore, as part of an additional general de-escalation effort in Libya, meetings with representatives of the main Libyan forces were held in Moscow on 13 January.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“As a result of these actions, the region and the world found themselves on the brink of a conflict whose repercussions could have been unpredictable given that the margin of stability in the Middle East region is reaching its limit. Reducing the artificially created tensions around Iran would facilitate the defusing of tensions in the region. The countries of the Middle East and North Africa must themselves develop parameters to collectively ensure regional security. To that end, it is necessary to begin dialogue. Today’s volatile situation in the Middle East is largely the result of States of the region not yet having established effective communication channels. Our shared objective is to help them do so. We have contributed to the fulfilment of this objective by proposing a blueprint for security in the Persian Gulf.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We wish to thank Ms. Rosemary DiCarlo and Ms. Ursula Mueller for their briefings. For the first time in 2020, we are holding a debate on the situation in the Middle East, and unfortunately we again begin the year with the alarming observation that not only has the region not seen positive trends, but we are also witnessing a growing escalation. We view the killing of the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Major General Soleimani, and his associates, in Baghdad on 3 January, which was perpetrated on the soil of a sovereign State Member of the United Nations without its knowledge or consent, as an unacceptable act that undermines security and stability in the region. We call upon all parties to exercise restraint, demonstrate good judgment and prioritize diplomatic means.”
2020-01-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8706 (2020) · source
“Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): In the light of the recent adoption of resolution 2504 (2020), the Russian Federation would like to withdraw the draft resolution contained in document S/2020/25.”
2020-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8700 (2020) · source
“We welcome the fact that this resolution includes a reference to the guiding principles of humanitarian assistance set out in Assembly resolution 46/182. We have once again pointed out some problematic aspects of this mechanism. Alas, no prospects for resolving them are discernible thus far. We hope that this trend will be reversed, otherwise we will face the same set of problems when we address this issue again in the summer. This task can be achieved only once we get back to the basic guiding principles for providing humanitarian assistance, namely, coordination with the Government of the host country.”
2020-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8700 (2020) · source
“And, thirdly, this is an important confidence-building measure; whatever one might say, confidence with the Syrian authorities needs to be restored. We are convinced that, without creating an atmosphere of acceptance, no international organization will be able to establish stable and effective operations in the country. Again, this is not our whim, but what General Assembly resolutions on humanitarian assistance directly prescribe. Those documents stipulate that the central authorities of the host country should play the leading role in initiating, providing and coordinating assistance on their territory. We should always bear that in mind when we return to the question of cross-border assistance — a principal issue.”
2020-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8700 (2020) · source
“Specialized reports of the Secretary-General also avoid that issue. That is not right. And, since the resolution calls for another such report to be prepared, we would very much like to see there information about what has been done to ensure direct access for the United Nations to the area of operations, both in public work and in contacts with groups represented in Idlib. The second important short-term task, in our view, is to mark vehicles that deliver humanitarian assistance. How to do it and what insignia to use is not so important. However, those vehicles should be easy to differentiate from commercial and other traffic. First, this is a basic security requirement during armed conflict. Secondly, this is an issue that has to do with transparency of the operation.”
2020-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8700 (2020) · source
“In accordance with the guiding principles of humanitarian assistance, the United Nations must, I underline must, do that in coordination with the Syrian authorities at their request and with their consent. It must do that. The resolution clearly stipulates that this is an urgent temporary measure designed to assist those who cannot be reached through existing routes. It also mandates the enhanced monitoring of supply deliveries to those in need. We believe that monitoring cannot be effectively carried out unless United Nations personnel have access to the area of operations. That is not just our whim, but rather a key provision of resolution 2165 (2014) that has never been observed throughout the five years of the mechanism’s existence — for some reason, everyone prefers not to talk about that.”
2020-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8700 (2020) · source
“The Jordanian border crossing at Al-Ramtha has not been used since the summer of 2018 and the Iraqi one at Al-Yarubiyah since last year. In north-eastern Syria humanitarian supplies are being delivered through Government-controlled areas. That is reflected in the report of the Secretary- General S/2019/949. It is true that people prefer to remain silent about that. I would like to say to my Estonian colleague that it is not Russia’s task to find reliable ways to deliver assistance to the Syrian people. That is the task of the United Nations in coordination with the Syrian authorities. It should long have taken care of that issue in the region.”
2020-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8700 (2020) · source
“No matter how often we say that humanitarian assistance should remain outside political battles, we still continue to play political games around humanitarian assistance that are very dangerous and shameless, since the “figures of exchange” are in fact the inhabitants of Idlib. Indeed, it was their very well-being that our colleagues appear to have risked in the pursuit of political goals. It is difficult to understand how all this is in line with concern for the people of Idlib, as so extensively declared at other meetings. Meanwhile, I propose that we consider what kind of resolution we have just adopted so that no one will have different interpretations. The document extends the mandate for six months only for the crossing points from Turkey to Idlib province.”
2020-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8700 (2020) · source
“Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): The Russian Federation abstained in the voting on resolution 2504 (2020), proposed by the co-penholders, for the sole purpose of not blocking cross-border assistance to the Syrian province of Idlib, which is the only one that still really needs that method of delivering supplies. I would recall that from the very first day of negotiations, we expressed our commitment to that goal and, in that context, we did not oppose maintaining the Turkish crossing points. It remains unclear to us as to why throughout this entire period several delegations categorically refused to engage in negotiations on our alternative draft resolution (S/2020/25). We have still not heard what the draft resolution did not address in terms of substance. Essentially, we have now adopted the same outline.”
2020-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8700 (2020) · source
“Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): The Russian Federation should like to propose an oral amendment to paragraph 6 of the draft resolution contained in document S/2020/24. We propose that the words (spoke in English) “and in accordance with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence” be deleted from the current text and replaced with the following phrase: “and in accordance with the guiding principles of humanitarian emergency assistance, as contained in United Nations General Assembly resolution 46/182”.”
2020-01-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8700 (2020) · source
“In that regard, we there is no alternative to maintaining and strengthening a system of international relations, based on the United Nations Charter and the universally recognized principles and norms of international law derived from it. Despite all the complexities and contradictions in the modern world, for us and for the majority of countries the United Nations remains the backbone of international relations and the legitimate universal tool that lets us collectively search for responses to crises and challenges. It has a unique mandate for addressing key international issues and maintaining international peace and security and we will continue to uphold it.”
2020-01-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8699 (2020) · source
“As a result of increasing confrontation, the region and, indeed, the entire world are on the brink of a conflict whose consequences are unpredictable. We call for an immediate de-escalation. The risk of conflict is too great and the price too high. We must also note one more violation of and non-compliance with international law and its unconditional obligations by the host country of the Headquarters of the United Nations. We have been talking about this issue for a long time. The most recent example of this artificial crisis was the denial of a visa to Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammed Javad Zarif, who was supposed to speak at today’s meeting. The Russian Federation believes that strict compliance with the United Nations Charter is the only way to preserve peace.”
2020-01-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8699 (2020) · source
“The lack of a settlement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the illegal intervention in Iraq, endless violence in Afghanistan, the murder of the leader of Libya and destruction of the country, attempts to overthrow the legitimate authorities of Syria and the extrajudicial killing of an official of a sovereign State in a third country are but a few examples of actions that have left wounds on the body of international law and order. The quintessence of those regrettable developments was the withdrawal of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear programme, which was approved by the Security Council and is of key importance to nuclear non-proliferation.”
2020-01-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8699 (2020) · source
“We believe that any action that seeks to interfere in the domestic affairs of States for the purpose of overthrowing their legitimate Governments is unacceptable. We oppose the use of unilateral coercive measures in the absence of the corresponding Security Council resolutions or in addition to measures taken by the Council, which undermines the role of the Council in the maintenance of international peace and security and is incompatible with the Charter and universally recognized principles of international law, including the peaceful settlement of international disputes, the sovereign equality of States and non-interference in their domestic affairs. For many years now, the distortion of the norms of international law and mindless intervention have caused more suffering in the Middle East and North Africa than in other regions.”
2020-01-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8699 (2020) · source
“Another example of disregard for the authority of the Security Council was the establishment of the so-called International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Those Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes in Syria, in contravention of the United Nations Charter. Regrettably, there is an ever-increasing number of such examples of the revision of international law. Recently, we have seen the steady weakening of the disarmament machinery — torpedoing of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and threats to the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Today, we face the risk of the entire treaty architecture that covers nuclear missile arms control being dismantled.”
2020-01-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8699 (2020) · source
“What is very dangerous is the fact that the proponents of the concept of the rules-based order have set their sights on the exclusive prerogatives of the Security Council without hesitation. I will give a few examples. Following the failed attempt to force politicized solutions through the Security Council — accusing the Syrian authorities, without proof, of using banned toxic substances — the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was granted the authority to determine who had been responsible for using chemical weapons. That was nothing less than an encroachment on the authority of the Security Council.”
2020-01-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8699 (2020) · source
“Attempts at revisionism with regard to the principles of international law embodied in the United Nations Charter are often disguised in pretty packaging. Today’s fashionable concept of the rules- based order is the most striking example. Such rules are selected and employed as needed. The purpose of that concept is to replace universally agreed international legal instruments and mechanisms with narrow formats in which alternative, non-consensus-based solutions are developed in circumvention of legitimate multilateral frameworks. In essence, we are dealing with attempts by a small group of States to usurp the process of making consensus decisions on key issues on the international agenda while using this concept as a cover.”
2020-01-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8699 (2020) · source
“The Charter’s provisions include the inadmissibility of the use or threat of use of force and the imperative of the peaceful settlement of disputes. There can be no justification for non-compliance with the Charter, under any circumstances. The foundation of that structure is the system of collective security, steered by the Security Council. I would like to emphasize the word “collective”. The entire Charter highlights the notion of collectivism and the fostering of friendly relations and cooperation. In addition, the Charter outlines the essential principle of the sovereign equality of all States, large and small. The process of creating a polycentric, multipolar world has become irreversible and not everyone is in favour of it.”
2020-01-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8699 (2020) · source
“Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We welcome you to New York, Mr. President, and we are pleased to see you presiding over the Security Council. We also extend our gratitude to the Secretary- General and Mrs. Robinson for their briefings. This year we will mark the closely connected seventy-fifth anniversaries of the end of the Second World War and the establishment of the United Nations. Seventy-five years ago, the conditions were created for the establishment of a post-war global order, and the load-bearing structure of that was the United Nations as the cornerstone of the system of international relations and multilateralism. Enshrined within the Charter of the United Nations are all the principles of multilateralism. Its purposes and principles enjoy the status of imperative norms of international law.”
2020-01-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8699 (2020) · source
“Russia will continue to deliver humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people and continue to work to rebuild their country, which has been destroyed largely as a result of foreign intervention.”
2019-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8697 (2019) · source
“They have deprived the Syrians of the cross-border humanitarian assistance mechanism. Do not attempt to shift blame for that on us. What will they tell the press when they leave the Chamber today - that Russia killed the cross-border mechanism? Or will they trumpet this story in their media outlets? But how will they explain the fact that they voted against the Russian draft resolution, which provides for the extension of the provision of humanitarian assistance to people in need in Syria through the cross-border mechanism? Unfortunately, it is clear to us that some of our partners pursue not humanitarian but other goals while endlessly politicizing the humanitarian arena, again and again.”
2019-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8697 (2019) · source
“Those same Syrian people about whom those who blocked our draft resolution today assured us today of their unceasing concern. We have already talked about the reasons for our proposal to reduce the mandate for the cross-border mechanism's time frame and reduce the number of crossing points. But the most important thing, which I want to emphasize, is that we were willing to extend the mechanism. No one should try to cover that up. Will the Syrian people whom the humanitarian assistance is intended for understand the point of our disagreements? What difference does six months or 12 months mean to them? We will not accept the reproaches we have heard today. What are we being reproached for? Is it because they did not accept our draft resolution extending the cross-border mechanism?”
2019-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8697 (2019) · source
“We were frank about that right from the start, although for some reason the co-penholders still did not believe it. One could say that what we really observed today were the double standards of the self-styled humanitarian stewards of the welfare of the Syrian people. We were willing to extend the mechanism and, as many put it, to give our swift approval in the interests of delivering assistance to Syrians in areas where that assistance was indeed essential. Meanwhile, those colleagues of ours who constantly accuse Russia of obstructing those efforts and speak of the lofty standards and principles of humanism, have themselves killed the mechanism, using arguments that can neither be justified nor withstand criticism. Let me ask the Council a rhetorical question. Who won today? Nobody. Who lost?”
2019-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8697 (2019) · source
“Mr. Nebenzia (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We are deeply disappointed with the vote on draft resolution S/2019/962 on the cross-border humanitarian assistance mechanism. My British colleague mentioned breathtaking hypocrisy, and I concur with her. However, we have a different View as to who was hypocritical in this situation. My German colleague, as is now customary, attempted to lecture us about diplomacy today and reproached us for an unwillingness to compromise. We have already made a significant compromise on the draft resolution but for some reason that was not appreciated. We are asked to make compromise after compromise, over and over again, and essentially to return to the same co-penholders' text for draft resolution S/2019/961, which was unacceptable to us in the first place.”
2019-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8697 (2019) · source
“The six- month extension will enable all of us to consider what we can and should do to ensure the effective use of this humanitarian assistance. And that should not become a justification for those of our colleagues who are willing to block the provision of humanitarian assistance for the sake of the mechanism's mandated timeline. For the reasons I have cited, we cannot support the humanitarian troika's draft resolution, and we therefore call on all who are genuinely interested in preserving humanitarian assistance in Syria rather than pursuing political aims to support our draft.”
2019-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8697 (2019) · source
“This year we are willing to support it. It provides for access to humanitarian assistance in north-western Syria, where such aid is still essential. For our part, we have made an effort to meet our colleagues' concerns. In response, we received a second and then a third draft from the humanitarian troika, which still include provisions that are divorced from reality. This approach is dishonest. We are obliged to repeat this yet again since our arguments were clearly not heard by our colleagues during the preparatory stage for today's vote. However, we have the impression that our arguments have been deliberately disregarded. For the sake of humanitarian goals, we agree to extending the cross-border assistance mechanism to the areas where it is needed.”
2019-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8697 (2019) · source
“It contained, and still contains, provisions that have nothing to do with the humanitarian component. In our View, that approach is dictated by purely political motives. We indicated our overall concerns about the text in the first stage of the consultations. When we saw that we could not work with the document as it was presented to us, we proposed our own version of the resolution. Our draft resolution (8/2019/962) focuses exclusively on the humanitarian aspects while reducing the unused paragraphs on the passage of humanitarian assistance. I especially want to emphasize something that we have said repeatedly, which is that our document does extend the cross-border mechanism. In the past we did not support it but we did not block it either, in acknowledgement of the humanitarian needs of the Syrian population.”
2019-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8697 (2019) · source
“The second preambular paragraph of the draft resolution proposed by the co-penholders contain a reference to the firm commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria. In that case it is important to also consider the views of Damascus, the recipient country, as set out in a letter dated 10 December from Mr. Faisal Mekdad, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Syrian Arab Republic, addressed to Under-Secretary-General Mark Lowcock - and here it is - which clearly outlines the Syrian Government's position that keeping the mechanism in its current form is unacceptable. We cannot all disregard the position of the recipient country. From the beginning, the humanitarian troika's draft proposal has assumed its automatic renewal every year without providing for its review or adaptation.”
2019-12-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8697 (2019) · source