MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. The vote by a number of friendly countries for Russia's exclusion from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC) is the result of coercion to Russophobia, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"It is not a matter of understanding and forgiving [the friendly countries that did vote in favor]. It is a question of understanding the difficult situation, the unprecedented pressure and, I would say, the compulsion to Russophobia. All the countries that are trying to take at least a balanced position are experiencing all of this. We understand that," the Kremlin spokesman explained.
Speaking about whether such a decision discredits the status of the body itself, Peskov noted that "it does not give the Council any added value." "On the contrary, it loses in this situation," the Kremlin spokesman said.
The UN General Assembly passed the Western resolution to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council during a special session Thursday. A total of 93 votes were cast in favor of the resolution, with 24 against, while 58 delegations abstained from the vote. A number of countries friendly to Russia, including Serbia, were among those who voted in favor. Venezuela did not participate in the vote, because it was deprived of the right to vote due to its arrears in membership fees. Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gennady Kuzmin later said that Russia decided to terminate its membership in the UN HRC early.