Ukraine Fails to Attract Neutral Countries to Implement Its 'Peace Formula' - Russia's UN Envoy
04:08 GMT 18.09.2023 (Updated: 10:39 GMT 18.09.2023)
© AP Photo / John Minchillo
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UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - Kiev has failed to "pull" neutral countries and international organizations to implement its peace formula, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told Sputnik.
"As for the meetings on Zelensky's peace formula, as far as we know, Kiev is still unsuccessfully trying to pull neutral countries and international organizations to implement the points of its plan," Nebenzia said in an interview.
He called for an objective approach to anything the Ukrainians say about international support for Zelensky's formula, including a recent G20 statement.
"We see no signs of UN involvement in these discussions, especially since [UN Secretary-General] Antonio Guterres has repeatedly spoken in this context about his commitment to the principle of impartiality and centrality," Nebenzia said.
18 September 2023, 02:23 GMT
Nebenzya urged that "everything the Ukrainians say about international support for the so-called 'Zelensky Plan' should be checked against the facts," including "the recent section of the G20 statement on the Ukrainian crisis." "Everything else is 'from the evil one'," he concluded.
Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration of the G20 summit. It states in connection with the events in Ukraine that all countries should refrain from the threat or use of force to acquire territory.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the G7 countries were putting pressure on India to reflect their unilateral approaches to the situation around Ukraine in the final documents of the G20. The ministry noted that against this background the Indian side tried to stick to a neutral course based on the strictly economic mandate of the G20.
In late June, talks on Ukraine were held in Copenhagen with the participation of the G7 countries, some BRICS countries and Ukraine itself. The participants discussed the ways of implementing the peace formula of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. After that, Saudi Arabia held its own meeting on the issue in Jeddah. Moscow considers the formula to be completely detached from reality.
West Blocks Work on Russian-Chinese Resolution to Ease Sanctions on DPRK
The Western countries, under far-fetched pretexts, blocked work on a draft resolution of Russia and China on easing sanctions against North Korea, Nebenzia said.
"The Western bloc, under far-fetched pretexts, blocked work on a draft humanitarian resolution on North Korea prepared by the Russian and Chinese delegations. Such destructive behavior cannot be considered other than a violation of the spirit of the Council resolutions," Nebenzia said.
He also drew attention to the fact that despite the restraint shown by Pyongyang, there was no counter-movement from the West in terms of easing sanctions.
"On the contrary, the United States and its allies constantly make threats and introduce new illegal restrictive measures," Nebenzia stated.
In 2021, Russia and China submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on the partial lifting of sanctions against North Korea. The authors of the resolution noted that the North Korean economy has been in poor condition in recent years. The resolution, among other things, proposed lifting the ban on North Korean workers working abroad, lifting sanctions on inter-Korean railway and road cooperation projects, and lifting a number of other restrictive measures.
US Made No Offer to Russia to Meet on Sidelines of UNGA High-Level Week
The United States has not offered Russia bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the high-level week of the UN General Assembly in New York, but Moscow will consider such an offer like any other, if it comes, Vassily Nebenzia said.
"There were no proposals for bilateral contacts during the high-level week from US colleagues. If we receive one, we will consider it, like all others," Nebenzia said in an interview when asked if talks with the US delegation were expected during the high-level week.
The high-level week of the UNGA session will take place at the UN headquarters from September 18-26. The General Debate, to be addressed by the heads of delegations, will begin on September 19.
The Russian delegation to the high-level week will be headed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He is expected to address the gathering on September 23.
On UN's Claims That Saving World's Hungry Depends on Grain Deal
The United Nations' statements that saving the world's hungry depends on the Black Sea Grain Initiative are false, Vassily Nebenzia said, adding that claims of a rise in market prices due to Russia's withdrawal from the initiative are also incorrect.
"We continue to hear loud statements from the press service and officials of the global organization [UN] that the Black Sea Initiative is supposedly responsible for saving the hungry around the world. This does not correspond to reality, and we have repeatedly cited the relevant figures and facts," Nebenzia said in an interview.
Allegations that Russia's withdrawal from the initiative has led to an increase in prices are also false, he said, adding that they have actually continued to fall.
At the same time, Nebenzia said that consultations on the grain deal between Russia and the UN were continuing.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his team do not have the leverage to solve systematic issues with the implementation of the Russian part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Nebenzia said.
"Unfortunately, we have to admit, and the UN had to admit this publicly more than once, the Secretary-General and his team do not have the leverage to solve systematic problems, although they are really trying," Nebenzia said.
At the same time, Russia "does not sit idly by" and continues to provide real assistance to the least developed countries of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, the envoy added.
"Russian President [Vladimir Putin] covers these efforts in detail in his speeches. [He] also clearly stated conditions for Russia's return to the Black Sea [Grain] Initiative. We outlined them in detail here as well. This is not blackmail, as the West is trying to present it, but a demand to fulfill what we were promised a year ago," Nebenzia said.
On July 18, the Turkiye- and UN-mediated Black Sea Grain Initiative, or the grain deal, which provided for a humanitarian corridor to allow exports of Ukrainian grain over the past year amid the Russian military operation expired as Russia did not renew its participation in the deal. Moscow said that the deal's component on facilitating Russian grain and fertilizer exports had not been fulfilled.
UN Experts Not Confirming Claims of Pyongyang's Alleged Arms Supplies to Moscow
Experts of the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea are not confirming speculations on Pyongyang's alleged arms supplies to Russia, Russian Ambassador said.
"There are many speculations on this issue, including on the UN platform. All of them are actively repeated by the Western media," Nebenzia said when asked about Moscow's reaction to the US accusations against North Korea of allegedly supplying weapons to Russia and the threat of sanctions.
"[Such allegations] are not confirmed even by the group of sanctions experts of the Security Council's special committee, which ... includes representatives of Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom," Nebenzia said.
Russia will continue developing contacts with North Korea at the interstate level, as no United Nations Security Council resolution prohibits this, Nebenzia added.
"We will continue to develop such contacts in the future in the interest of our countries. This is not prohibited by any UN Security Council resolution," Nebenzia said.
Pyongyang's recent easing of COVID-19 restrictions served as an incentive to restore contacts between Russia and North Korea at the interstate level, he said.
"[North Korea] is truly an important neighbor and partner, with whom Russia has had friendly relations for decades," the envoy added.
17 September 2023, 13:06 GMT
A Russian delegation led by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea from July 25-27, while North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid a five-day visit to Russia from September 13-17, during which he met with President Vladimir Putin.
