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US instructs UN members to reject resolution on INF Treaty — Russian diplomat

Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said the US was very worried about the outcome of the vote in the UN General Assembly

Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya Mikhail Japaridze/TASS

Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya

© Mikhail Japaridze/TASS

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHANTSKY, December 22. /TASS/. The United States sent out a letter to the United Nations members, insisting that the Russian-drafted resolution calling for strengthening the Russia-US compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty be rejected, and also noting that it should be done by two thirds of the vote, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said on Saturday.

Read also

UNGA vote on INF Treaty resolution new blow to global security, Moscow warns

"The US side was very worried about the outcome of the vote," Nebenzya told Rossiya 1 TV channel.

On Thursday, "[US] Ambassador [to the UN Nikkey] Haley sent out a letter to all member countries - and to us - calling for a vote against the Russia-drafted resolution, but in support of the particular importance of this issue, so it should be passed by two thirds of the UN members’ votes," he said.

On Friday, the UN General Assembly voted down the resolution in support of the INF Treaty. Forty-three nations voted for the document, 46 were against and another 78 abstained.

Among those who voted against the resolution were the United States, the European Union nations, Japan, Turkey, Israel and Ukraine. The document was supported by China, member nations of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Iran, Syria and a number of Latin American countries.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that the results of the vote were disappointing and a new blow to global security.

The key idea of the Russian draft is that the treaty should be supported as one of the cornerstones of European and international security. The document calls on the signatories to the treaty, i.e. Russia and the United States, to continue consultations to keep it in place.

In the meantime, representatives of the United States and the European Union said after the vote that they did not think that resolution might help preserve the treaty.

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United States United Nations INF Treaty

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