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Russia disagrees with UN Security Council's work on North Korea midterm report

On August 24, Russia blocked adoption of the agenda of the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, but its Chair refused to reflect this position in the report
Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia Mikhail Dzhaparidze/TASS
Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia
© Mikhail Dzhaparidze/TASS

UNITED NATIONS, August 31. /TASS/. Russia vetoes the UN Security Council discussion of the report on implementation of sanctions against Pyongyang before amending it, Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia told reporters after the closed consultations of the UN Security Council on North Korea

"The discussion was vivid. We put on hold the report of the 1718 Sanctions Committee, because we disagree with certain elements of the report, and the conduct of business itself," Nebenzia said.

On August 24, Russia blocked adoption of the agenda of the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council, but its Chair refused to reflect this position in the report. "We and other delegations expressed concerns about regular leaks of the committee information to the press," he said, adding, "We will pursue this issue individually. We agreed that we would consult with the Chair of 1718."

On August 4, Reuters and CNN published a confidential UN report that has been in preparation for 6 months, with participation of independent experts, who assessed implementation of UN sanctions. According to the document, Pyongyang continues to develop its nuclear and missile programs in violation of UN sanctions.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier, commenting on the leak, that the UN Secretariat should carry out a thorough investigation into the media leak of a report made by a group of experts from the UN Security Council committee on North Korea ahead of its official release.

"Moscow is outraged at the media leak of the report made by a group of experts from the UN Security Council’s 1718 Sanctions Committee on North Korea at the beginning of this month, ahead of its discussion in the specified sanctions body and the official release by the Security Council chairman. It is clear from the contents of the report that the goal of this action is to exert pressure on certain countries over the North Korean record as part of the position to preserve maximal pressure over Pyongyang promoted by some players," the diplomat noted.