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Despite heated debates, Russian envoy highlights ‘friendly’ climate in UN Security Council

He said he shared a good and amicable relationship with Germany’s permanent representative Christoph Heusgen, with whom he often entered into debate during the sessions

UNITED NATIONS, January 25. /TASS/. Relations among the permanent representatives in the UN Security Council remain friendly despite heated debates during the sessions, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, told TASS in an interview.

"It is essential to distinguish between the climate in the UN Security Council during the sessions and personal contacts among the permanent representatives," he said. "Starting from my arrival here and up to this very day the climate among the permanent representatives has been invariably friendly and good-natured."

"True, when the Council meets in sessions, there may occur heated discussions," Nebenzya said. "The situation in the world, geopolitics and our countries’ different attitude to handling problems are the reason."

Nebenzya said he shared a good and amicable relationship with Germany’s permanent representative Christoph Heusgen, with whom he often entered into debate during the sessions.

"He regards himself as a witty person and he likes to challenge and provoke. But, as you may have noticed, we never let him get away with it when he tries to talk to us this way," Nebenzya said.

At one of the sessions devoted to the situation in Ukraine Heusgen mentioned what he described as Russia’s intrusion into Ukraine and occupation of the Belarusian capital Minsk. Nebenzya had to address his German counterpart with a reminder that in reality "Russia had stormed Berlin, while the right word for Minsk was liberation." On another occasion Nebenzya promised to teach Heusgen "the ABCs of Russian diplomacy.".

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