YouSaid · the spoken record

Safronkov

lines on the record: 808
first: 2008-04-30
most recent: 2020-03-12
sittings or episodes: 103
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

“First and foremost I Wish to commend the selfless, brave work of United Nations humanitarian personnel in Yemen, including Humanitarian Coordinator McGoldrick. They continue to deal with the most practical tasks in helping the population of the country. Our country, through its embassy in Sana'a, has contributed to establishing a secretariat to contribute to cooperation among the humanitarian structures of the United Nations and the local authorities of the Republic of Yemen in the capital. The secretariat will be tasked with solving problems related to the distribution of assistance among those in need . We call on all parties to refrain from any efforts to find a military solution to the situation. Such an approach will not bring about effective and long-term results.”
2017-03-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7897 (2017) · source
“Mr. Safronkov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We would like at the outset to thank Under- Secretary-General Stephen O'Brien for his very comprehensive and objective briefing on the results of his recent visit to a number of countries that find themselves in a very difficult humanitarian situation. In calling for this meeting, we were motivated first and foremost by the need to obtain first-hand evidence about what is taking place in the countries affected by the humanitarian disaster, including as concerns the situation in the Republic of Yemen. A major part of the population of this country, which is historically friendly to Russia, requires humanitarian assistance. The country is on the verge of famine. Civilian infrastructure lies in ruins, and many businesses and facilities have been destroyed.”
2017-03-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7897 (2017) · source
“In order to reinvigorate the settlement process in Afghanistan, Moscow decided to intensify efforts towards developing a single regional approach aimed at promoting the process of national reconciliation. To address that issue, on 27 December 2016 we convened a meeting with China and Pakistan in Moscow and continued with the same format on 15 February with Afghanistan, Iran and India. During the next phase of that process, we believe that it would be important and timelyto involve our Central Asian partners as well as the United States.”
2017-03-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7896 (2017) · source
“The Taliban movement must join the national reconciliation process with Kabul playing the lead, based on the three well-known and approved United Nations principles: recognizing the Constitution of Afghanistan, disarmament and cutting off ties with Al-Qaida, the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations. Ensuring stability in Afghanistan must lie with the national security forces. Russia has provided Afghanistan free of charge a large provision of weapons and ammunition. We are training Afghan personnel in relevant Russian education institutions. Russia is playing an active role in combating terrorism in Afghanistan. We intend to help Kabul establish its army and police.”
2017-03-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7896 (2017) · source
“We are ready to provide assistance to advancing the negotiation process, including flexibly approaching the issue of the possibility of easing the sanctions regime ofthe relevant sanctions committees with regard to Afghanistan, provided that it does run contrary to the national interests of the country. The main priority of national reconciliation is to bring on board the Taliban in the framework of peace talks. That matter remains to be resolved. We need the harmonization of approaches and the synchronization of all the stakeholders including for collectively combating terrorism. We take note of the positive potential of Kazakhstan's initiatives. A fundamental response to the challenges that we face involves establishing genuine good-neighbourly relations in the region.”
2017-03-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7896 (2017) · source
“We therefore believe that it is necessary to step up international efforts towards combating Afghan drug trafficking. We deem that efforts to assist Afghanistan in that regard need to proceed through using tried and tested regional structures such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. We see much potential in strengthening counter-terrorist and counter-narcotics cooperation between Afghanistan and those entities. We support the Afghan Government's policy aimed at achieving national reconciliation.”
2017-03-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7896 (2017) · source
“We believe that approximately 3,500 members of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham are operating within the country. Given all the sympathizers and sleeping cells, a much higher number may be more realistic. The main theatres of operation are centred in the provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar, Helmand, Kandahar, Faryab, Baghlan and Kunduz. We therefore call on everyone to devote increased attention to that problem and not attempt to ignore it. A serious threat to the stability of Afghanistan and neighbouring countries, our friends in Central Asia, is generated from the drug problem. We are concerned that, once again, in 2016 there was a surge in poppy cultivation. The increase in drug revenue will inevitably further fuel terrorist activities.”
2017-03-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7896 (2017) · source
“We must be honest in recognizing that many issues facing the international military presence have gone unresolved in the past 15 years. We say that not to point the finger at any one, allocate blame or distract attention. We mention it so that everyone realizes that the goal of a resolution in Afghanistan requires the consolidation of regional and international efforts. Only by working together can we address the entire host of built-up complex problems, of which unfortunately there are many. We are particularly concerned about the growth of the Islamic State and its aspirations to absorb other elements of the armed opposition. The strengthening of that group has been demonstrated by the attack on the hospital in Kabul on 8 March, resulting in numerous victims.”
2017-03-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7896 (2017) · source
“We earlier stated our solidarity with our diplomat colleagues from the United Arab Emirates, who were also killed as a result of dastardly terrorist attacks. We are worried at seeing how things are developing in Afghanistan. We are concerned by the deterioration of the security situation and the surge in terrorist activity over the past few months. The negative trends we are seeing are hampering regional and international efforts to resolve problems in Afghanistan and bring about sustainable development. Civilians are increasingly suffering from the violence. In 2016, the number of peaceful Afghan civilian victims and of people dying as a result of military action or terrorist attacks reached an alarming level of 11,500 victims. We need urgent measures in order to stop those dangerous trends.”
2017-03-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7896 (2017) · source
“Mr. Safronkov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We are grateful to Special Representative of the Secretary-General Yamamoto for his detailed briefing on the situation in Afghanistan. We actively support his work and that of his highly professional team in Afghanistan and of the Secretariat. We are prepared to extend the mandate of his operation, with just a few slight changes. We listened with interest to the statement made by Ms. Samar, as we did to the one by Mr. Saikal. I want to say at the very outset that, for Russia, Afghanistan has always been, and remains, a friendly country, one which today is undergoing difficult times. We once again reiterate our condolences to the people and the Government of Afghanistan for the victims of the deadly terrorist attacks.”
2017-03-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7896 (2017) · source
“We are sending a message: only through cooperation will we be able to resolve the most difficult of tasks and move forward in finding a solution to the Syrian crisis. It is high time that we do so by creating a broad counter-terrorism front.”
2017-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7893 (2017) · source
“They heated things up intentionally, well aware that the initiative had no chance ofbeing adopted in the Security Council. In that context, we had no other choice than to block this draft resolution. The sanctions list contained therein was taken from analogous American lists approved at the beginning of this year by the outgoing United States Administration. One should not turn it all around, get it all backwards, create Virtual pictures. Today's confrontation is not a result of our negative vote, it is a result of the fact that the sponsors opted for provocation, all the while knowing our position. Furthermore, we would like to underscore that, in voting against this draft resolution, we voted against confrontation. By doing so, we demonstrated that confrontation is doomed to failure. It should be a thing of the past.”
2017-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7893 (2017) · source
“This is a railroading of the draft by the Western troika of permanent Security Council members. We see this as an attempt to retard and undermine current political and diplomatic efforts. We have seen the same scenario before. They say one thing and then do something completely different. The sponsors were unable to recognize the inappropriateness and untimeliness of measures; nor were they able to recognize the real threat of chemical terrorism in the Middle East. They do not understand that unilateral and multilateral sanctions against Damascus will only weaken the international counter-terrorism effort. In spite of our consistent appeals, the sponsors preferred a politically biased approach, leading to confrontation and an exacerbation of the situation, including in the Security Council.”
2017-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7893 (2017) · source
“A ban on the provision of helicopters, spare parts and services could indeed be seen as an attempt to undermine the counter- terrorism efforts being undertaken by Damascus, not to mention the critical role played by small aircraft in resolving humanitarian issues in an armed conflict. We truly wonder against whom and to what end this draft resolution has been crafted. It lay on the shelves for three months and underwent no significant change despite our numerous observations and the alternative we proposed on how joint work could be organized to combat chemical terrorism in the region. Nevertheless, the draft resolution was brought to the Security Council for a vote in the context of the efforts undertaken in Geneva and Astana to establish an intra-Syrian political dialogue to settle the crisis.”
2017-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7893 (2017) · source
“I recall the tragedy that occurred as a result ofthe pressure brought to bear on the Special Commission on Iraq, and then on the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission. It seems the Council has forgotten that this marked the very beginning of destabilization in the Middle East. We have no right to repeat such a thing. The annex of the draft resolution refers to a ban on the provision to Syria of a large number of chemical substances, the majority of which have nothing to do with the CWC. An embargo on the exports ofthis country can adversely affect the fulfilment of maj or agricultural and economic needs, in particular given that there are already unilateral sanctions in place.”
2017-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7893 (2017) · source
“has not spoken about any Syrian officials, scientific institutions or economic entities. This is a clear attempt to prejudge the outcomes of the investigations. When agreeing upon this draft resolution, we were told that it served the goal of non-proliferation. However, if one reads this voluminous document, it becomes absolutely clear that the point is to levy sanctions against Damascus, under imagined pretexts. We are seeing a clear trend of bringing powerful political pressure to bear on the Mechanism and pre-programming the results of the investigation. The Mechanism is being forced to set aside the principles of objectivity, independence and impartiality, which were set forth in the resolution tht established it. No lessons have been learned from the past.”
2017-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7893 (2017) · source
“Based on the unconvincing findings of the JIM's reports in today's draft resolution, there is no justification for concluding that Damascus has failed to comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention or has violated resolution 2118 (2013), despite the fact that resolution 2118 (2013) was seen as a huge success for the Security Council in its unprecedented disarming of Syria's chemical weapons. The draft resolution envisages applying sanctions similar to those that have been imposed on other countries. Working from this type of carbon copy is totally unacceptable. The authors of the draft resolution have gone as far as to propose financial, economic and other restrictions on specific individuals and legal entities. However, they do not bother to provide justification for the establishment of sanctions lists. The JIM.”
2017-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7893 (2017) · source
“In that regard, the Mechanism needs to seriously rethink the principles behind its work. We believe that, as envisaged in resolution 2319 (2016), the Mechanism's activities will go beyond Syria to include its neighbouring countries, and that its mandate will provide for real counter-terrorism measures. Much remains to be clarified in that regard, including enabling Damascus, in accordance with its obligations under article VII of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), to appropriately conclude a comprehensive national investigation verifying the facts laid out in the JIM's reports. What is there to say about a situation when the investigators did not actually travel to the places where the crimes were alleged to have been committed?”
2017-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7893 (2017) · source
“We should once again emphasize that this obsession with that destructive geopolitical project continues to be an obstacle to the ability to think clearly and weigh decisions carefully with the goal of reaching a political settlement, not just in Syria but in a number of other trouble spots in the Middle East. When we created the JIM. and agreed to extend its work for another year, it was on the clear understanding of the nature of the threat posed to this troubled region by the use of chemical weapons by terrorist organizations. Today that dangerous trend threatens to spill beyond the borders of the Middle East. We were led by the expectation that the Mechanism's work would be founded on a basis of impartiality and on established facts, not assumptions, conjectures or fabrications.”
2017-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7893 (2017) · source
“At the same time, the attitude to requests from Damascus about the investigations is one of shrugging contempt, as was clearly demonstrated in the report of the OPCW Fact-finding Mission on an incident that occurred on 2 August of last year in Aleppo. No wonder, when two thirds of the Mission's expert team was staffed by representatives from a single group of countries. Its geographic balance is in urgent need of correction. Let us be frank: the whole thing strengthens the impression that the authors of the draft text submitted for a vote today needed the Joint Investigative Mechanism for the sole purpose of laying responsibility for the use of chemical weapons at the door of Al-Assad's Government, thereby creating additional reasons for regime change in Damascus.”
2017-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7893 (2017) · source
“From the point of View of their practical legal application, the JIM's conclusions are not based on convincing facts on which any sort of charges could be founded. Moreover, they take no account ofthe fact that besides the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, there is widespread use of toxic substances in Syria by the Al-Nusra Front as well as numerous opposition groups on the ground, including for purposes of provocation aimed at discrediting the country's armed forces and its leadership. The problem is that the work of the experts in Syria is based on questionable information provided by the armed opposition sympathetic international non-governmental organizations, the media and so- called friends of Syria.”
2017-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7893 (2017) · source
“When the draft resolution first saw the light, at the beginning ofDecember 2016, we expressed our concerns on a number of occasions, collectively and separately, to each co-sponsor. Our scepticism about the conclusions of the third and fourth reports (see S/2016/738/Rev.1 and S/2016/888) of the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations to investigate cases of the use of chemical weapons in Syria is well known. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, late Permanent Representative of Russia, had already made detailed comments highlighting their uncorroborated conclusions, and at that point we thought we had made things quite clear. Apparently not.”
2017-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7893 (2017) · source
“Mr. Safronkov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): The Russian Federation voted against today's draft resolution (S/2017/172), on imposing sanctions Syria, because its authors' concept, which by its very nature is offensive and flawed, is totally unacceptable. The fact that the draft resolution failed to receive six Council members' votes out of 15 should give its authors serious reason to think. The statements we have heard have left us in no doubt that the draft resolution was based on the Western capitals' anti-regime doctrine. As for the insulting remarks about Russia, China and other States, we leave them to their consciences and may God be their judge. Let us try to sort out what really took place.”
2017-02-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7893 (2017) · source
“There can be no doubt that he is playing a key role in the situation in Kosovo, or that UNMIK remains the central instrument for international monitoring and contributes to normalizing the situation, in accordance with resolution 1244 (1999) - which remains in force in its entirety. The resolution cannot be changed unilaterally. That is an absolute political taboo.”
2017-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7891 (2017) · source
“Incidentally, major Western publications often feature reporting on the subject of the fact that when these insurgents get done fighting and return home they create the problem of what to do with them. Given the current situation, we see no grounds for reviewing the Security Council's quarterly consideration of the question of Kosovo. On the contrary, the regional dynamics require us to intensify our attention to the situation in Kosovo, and any talk of reducing the level of the United Nations presence in the region provided by UNMIK, under the leadership of Ambassador Tanin, is inappropriate.”
2017-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7891 (2017) · source
“The Kosovo authorities have long prevented the completion of the construction of the church of Christ the Saviour in Pristina, and now they have also blocked the reconstruction of the church of Saint Nicholas in the Holy Archangels Monastery in Prizren by refusing building permission to the Serbian Orthodox Church. This very typical act does not jibe with Kosovo's professed desire to become a member of UNESCO. The task of countering the spread of Islamic radicalism and terrorism in Kosovo has lost none of its urgency. It is a worrying fact that the region is used for recruiting insurgents to fight with extremists in the Middle East and to prepare acts of terrorism in other countries.”
2017-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7891 (2017) · source
“When dealing with any issues related to Kosovo security forces, the views of Serbia and Kosovo Serbs must be taken into account. As long as we are talking about national reconciliation and a multi-ethnic society, those views must be taken into consideration. One indisputable priority should be ensuring the security of the Kosovo Serb community, for which the Kosovo-Albanian authorities and international organizations in the region are responsible, particularly the Kosovo Force, whose mandate includes relevant provisions in that regard. Serious issues regarding the protection of Serbian religious and cultural heritage continue. The Serbian Orthodox Church is encountering obstacles in gaining access to religious sites, which they need to be able to do, among other things, in order to put them back in order in the wake of acts of vandalism.”
2017-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7891 (2017) · source
“On 4 January, we noted the arrest in France, at the request of Serbia, ofRamush Haradinaj, the leader ofthe Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and former Kosovo Liberation Army insurgent. We await the completion of all the formalities necessary to enable the launching of a special investigation into the Kosovo Liberation Army's crimes as soon as possible. If the perpetrators are not brought tojustice, regardless ofthe positions they may currently occupy, it will be impossible to achieve national reconciliation or a comprehensive settlement. We consider enabling the creation of a Kosovo- Albanian armed force on territory under a United Nations mandate unacceptable. Such an act contravenes resolution 1244 (1999), which supports the presence on Kosovo's territory of a multinational force under international control, exclusively.”
2017-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7891 (2017) · source
“They encourage the unilateral attitude in Kosovo to applications for membership in international bodies, prompting other States to recognize Kosovan sovereignty. The renewed declarations by Pristina of its intention to seek membership in the Council of Europe, INTERPOL and UNESCO are nothing but open provocations. Incidents, including some involving physical violence towards non-Albanian nationalists, continue to occur. Stone-throwing at buses carrying Serbian schoolchildren and Orthodox Christian pilgrims is commonplace. Kosovo's law enforcement bodies react extremely sluggishly, and in most cases the perpetrators are never found. All of this creates obstacles to the already almost paralysed process for returning refugees to the region.”
2017-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7891 (2017) · source
“Serbia fulfilled its obligations regarding the International Telecommunication Union's establishment of a separate telephone code for Kosovo. Thanks to Belgrade's restrained position, an escalation of conflict was avoided when, on 14 January, heavily armed units of Kosovo-Albanian police invaded Serb-populated areas of Kosovo in order to prevent the resumption of train service between Belgrade and North Mitrovica; this unprovoked measure was a gross violation of the current agreement on freedom of movement across the administrative boundary line. Pristina should have no security forces in northern Kosovo, where the Serbian population lives. That is a key element of the agreements. The dialogue's effectiveness is undermined by the fact that some countries that pay lip service to the idea of dialogue are playing a double game.”
2017-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7891 (2017) · source
“Many members of the international community will not accept it. We are disturbed at the lack of an appropriate reaction among the international community to Pristina's ongoing attempts to wrest away economic assets that belong to Serbs, including the Trepca industrial complex and major electric power facilities. During the recent exacerbation of tensions, not even feeble attempts were made to urge Kosovars to comply with the sensitive agreements. On the contrary, it is always the Serbs who are leaned on from the other side, time after time. We note Belgrade's constructive attitude. On 5 February, the Serbs began to dismantle the walls around a pedestrian zone in North Mitrovica, something that, let us not forget, the Pristina authorities had insisted on.”
2017-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7891 (2017) · source
“Above all, what is at issue is the fundamental question of the establishment of an association/community of Serb-maj ority municipalities of Kosovo, which, we must not forget, is a key point of the agreement of 19 April 2013 on the principles of the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina. There has been plenty of discussion and many pronouncements about national reconciliation and the creation of a multi-ethnic society in Kosovo, but no sign whatever of practical steps to achieve those things. We also categorically refuse to accept the attempt to distance Belgrade from the process of resolving some of the most important issues surrounding the protection of the lives of the Kosovo's Serbian community. No one - neither Serbia nor Serbs living in Kosovo - will ever accept that.”
2017-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7891 (2017) · source
“The report of the Secretary-General on the Mission in Kosovo (S/2017/95/Rev.1) is generally objective and deserves to be commended. It and Mr. Tanin's briefing this morning reflect the growing level of tension between the parties and the presence in the region of outstanding issues, most of them in key areas, particularly those relating to the protection of the political, economic, social and religious rights of the Serb community. It is becoming clear why the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, which has already been in a prolonged deadlock, is in danger ofbreaking down. That is primarily the result of the biased attitude of the European Union, which, as intermediary, has not exerted the proper degree of influence on the Kosovo-Albanian side regarding implementation of the agreements.”
2017-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7891 (2017) · source
“Mr. Safronkov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We welcome the participation in today's meeting of the President of Serbia, His Excellency Mr. Tomislav Nikolie, and share the serious concerns he expressed about the situation in Kosovo. We thank Ambassador Zahir Tanin, Special Representative ofthe Secretary-General, and his team for their briefing on the work of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), highlighting that serious problems persist in the region. Many of those problems, however, have been urgently awaiting solutions for years. We categorically refuse to accept the practice of directing unilateral and offensive insults at Serbia and its people. One should first cast out the beam from one's own eye.”
2017-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7891 (2017) · source
“We would like to address an element contained in the report - the request of the Secretary-General to the Security Council to clarify the issue of the temporary transfer of conventional weapons. We are ready to participate actively in preparing and providing an adequate reply to the Secretary-General. We believe that the temporary removal of conventional weapons does not fall under the scope of annex B.”
2017-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7865 (2017) · source
“The occasional technical problems that have emerged are being addressed effectively, and the most recent clear example of that is the approval by the Joint Commission of the decision regarding the clean-up of the production line at the Isfahan plant and the handling of enriched uranium. In the long term, the procedure developed will allow us to address the issue of Tehran's compliance with the established limit of 300 kilogrammes for stocks of such material. We advocate against any attempts to exert pressure on Tehran in the area of its missile and conventional weapons programmes. Any threats in that area affecting the lifting of unilateral sanctions and Iran's return to the international economic and financial markets are unacceptable and counter-productive.”
2017-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7865 (2017) · source
“First and foremost, the document should help to establish and enhance conditions that would lead to a successful and lasting implementation of the JCPOA, which would be the most important diplomatic achievement. The Russian Federation is generally satisfied with the results that have been achieved in the year since the start of the implementation of the J CPOA. The working mechanisms of the Joint Commission have started functioning and have been working satisfactorily. In our view, the Commission is effectively addressing emerging issues. We believe that Iran is fully complying with its obligations, which is reflected in the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency.”
2017-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7865 (2017) · source
“We call upon the Secretary-General to monitor the respect for paragraph 27 of resolution 2231 (2015), which clearly emphasizes the non-precedent-setting nature of the provisions of the JCPOA, given that there have been attempts to use the exclusive agreements in the JCPOA in other contexts. A number of non-governmental organizations have been trying to promote ways in which the JCPOA could be used to enhance the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) safeguards system and advance nuclear disarmament. Such arbitrary actions must be monitored. As before, we continue to call for a change in the conceptual approach to the preparation of the report, which presents all information in a negative tone.”
2017-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7865 (2017) · source
“Let us not forget that, on 16 January 2016, the Security Council drew up a special note instructing the Secretary-General to submit reports. The note refers to the entire resolution 2231 (2015), and not to separate parts of it, in particular annex B. We suggest that, if there are any doubts or questions about the scope, the structure or individual elements of the report, then the Secretary-General can, and must, approach the Security Council for appropriate clarifications. Furthermore, that procedure has already been used by the Secretary-General, as reported in the report, with regard to the issue of the temporary removal of conventional weapons that are subject to restriction.”
2017-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7865 (2017) · source
“The new report has become more fact- based, impartial and neutral than the first. However, the text continues to include some elements that can raise serious questions. There are also repetitions, creating artificial emphasis. The main shortcoming of the report is that the Secretariat ignored Tehran's wishes to include in it information on the actual problems related to meeting sanctions-lifting obligations in the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). As in the first report, we note a clear slant towards issues of implementing annex B aimed at maintaining limits on the Islamic Republic of Iran. The result is a one-sided and equivocal report. Although the report is submitted pursuant to resolution 2231 (2015), the references made in it are only to annex B, which is actually a separate statement ofthe 5+l group.”
2017-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7865 (2017) · source
“Mr. Safronkov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We would like to thank Under-Secretary- General Jeffrey Feltman for presenting the second report (S/2016/1136) of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 2231 (2015). We note the productive start to the work of the Security Council's new facilitator on the implementation of the resolution, the Permanent Representative of Italy, Mr. Sebastiano Cardi. We are also grateful to the Permanent Representative of Spain for the important work that he undertook previously on this very important resolution. We highlight once again that the report of the Secretary-General used less unsubstantiated data and unverified information from the media that could not be checked or confirmed than the first report (see S/2016/589).”
2017-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7865 (2017) · source
“Mr. Safronkov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): We supported the adoption of resolution 2323 (2016), but we must recall that, during the discussions on its elaboration, we strongly favoured extending the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya for six months. We believe that to be the optimal time frame in the light of the weak political dynamics in terms of the country's development, the insufficient effectiveness of the work of the United Nations Mission and the unclear prospects for its return to the country. Sadly, that opinion was not heeded due to the desire of certain Security Council members to paint an unjustifiably optimistic picture of the situation in Libya.”
2016-12-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7832 (2016) · source
“We want to particularly emphasize that the new resolution should absolutely not be used to stifle North Korea's economy or to worsen the humanitarian situation and the people's circumstances. The situation on the Korean peninsula should not be used as a pretext for increasing the foreign military presence in the region. We firmly condemn any buildup of offensive weapons near the borders that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea shares with neighbours, including the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-ballistic missile systems. A country cannot possibly achieve lasting long-term security if it tries to build it at the expense of the security of other States. We urge all sides to show restraint, avoid provocative rhetoric and aggravations of the situation and act speedily in seeking a way out of the crisis.”
2016-11-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7821 (2016) · source
“Mr. Safronkov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): The Russian Federation voted in favour of today's resolution 2321 (2016), which sanctions the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for conducting a fifth nuclear test. We should note that while Pyongyang's behaviour ignored the legitimate requests of the international community and therefore required us to adopt tough measures in the form of a standard Council resolution, today's resolution is in no way designed to close off the possibility of reviving the process of negotiations on the nuclear problem on the Korean peninsula and seeking a political solution to the outstanding issues in Asia's North-East.”
2016-11-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7821 (2016) · source
“Mr. Safronkov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian): I simply want to state for the record that we are witnessing, within the Security Council, the normalization of a culture of unacceptable behaviour. When the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic took the floor, other Permanent Representatives purposefully stood up and left the Chamber. We believe that such conduct points to their lack of courage to listen to a statement made by a professional colleague. That is unacceptable.”
2016-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7817 (2016) · source
“Let me also say that I have listened very carefully to my colleagues with whom I work on a daily basis on various issues. Their harshness tells me that their plans are not working, that something went wrong and that they are incapable of removing yet another regime and destroying another country in the Middle East. They cannot do that. However, it is never too late to stop trying. The doors of cooperation remain open.”
2016-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7817 (2016) · source
“First, the conflict was brought into existence. Now there is fear of the conflict and actions are being dictated by that fear. That is what is happening. Some want to put the whole world into a tribunal, Those parties have reached the point where they have listed the names of Syrian officers and generals. However, if they claim to be impartial, where are the names of the terrorists? Who is going to deal with them? Maybe those parties have become frightened of them. Let us try to not be hypocritical. Those parties have forgotten about their own golden standard on the presumption of innocence by pre-emptively identifying those responsible, which is something that ought to only be decided by a legal process. That is elementary, and yet I find myself saying it in the Security Council.”
2016-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7817 (2016) · source
“I must say that because of the efforts of our partners - today's statements are testimony to that - the work of the Council on the Syrian settlement is increasingly moving into the virtual sphere, which has nothing in common with the realities of the ongoing conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic. Let me recall, for example, the many appeals to the Governments of Syria and Russia. But who is going to work with those who were brought into Syria and provided with weapons and money? Can we imagine what it must be like for a secular Syria, which has a long tradition of coexistence of various faiths and cultures, to witness the presence of foreign fighters? Let us assess that professionally. What kind of significance does that have for them? Who is going to be working with those people? It seems that no one will.”
2016-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7817 (2016) · source
“Let me point out that information is never provided about the location of so-called mobile hospitals in areas under the control of rebel fighters who are supported by Western partners. When we asked for an honest exchange of information, that was what we specifically had in mind. My colleague from the United States, Ms. Power, is absolutely right. Let me say again that as of 18 October the Russian Air Force has not conducted airstrikes on Aleppo or within the 10 kilometres surrounding it. We are waiting for the moderate opposition to dissociate themselves from the terrorist groups. That is an urgent task.”
2016-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7817 (2016) · source
“If we amassed all the Internet data on attacks against health facilities, we might be surprised by the number of those facilities - which pre-war Syria never had. At the same time, it is continuously stated that there are no functioning health facilities remaining. That always happens immediately prior to a Security Council meeting. As a result of the shelling by the fighters in eastern Aleppo, the United Nations has left western Aleppo. Why is that something that we are not talking about today? Why is it that the attacks against the Embassies in Damascus are not being condemned? In the absence of the United Nations in Aleppo, information is gathered from God knows where - from various countries and from non-governmental organizations that are outside of Syria. Data is being intentionally falsified.”
2016-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7817 (2016) · source