All news

Moscow to state its position on resolutions at UN General Assembly — senior diplomat

According to Sergey Vershinin, Russia's motives are clear, they have already been provided at the discussion at the UN Security Council

MOSCOW, October 5. /TASS/. Russia plans to lay out its position on the referendums during the UN General Assembly after vetoing a resolution proposed by the US and Albania, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"Our position is clear, it’s obvious. We will state it at a session of the General Assembly," he said.

The deputy minister said the US and Albania used a classic scenario with their resolution proposal "when this or that resolution proposal is submitted to the [UN] Security Council where we reserve the right to veto and where we, of course, won’t allow anything that’s not true to pass." He also added that the General Assembly should not deal with issues that are dealt with by the UN Security Council (UNSC).

He also said that the General Assembly should avoid issues that are handled by the UN Security Council.

"We have used the veto. Not so long ago, we made a decision in New York that if the veto is used at the General Assembly, the country that used it will explain its decision and its motives. That’s what will be done at the session of the UN General Assembly on the 10th," Vershinin said.

According to the diplomat, Russia's motives are clear, they have already been provided at the discussion at the UN Security Council, and they have also been confirmed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

On September 30, the US and Albania submitted to the UN Security Council a draft resolution condemning the referendums in the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. Russia vetoed the resolutions. Brazil, China, Gabon and India abstained. According to a Western resolution of the UN General Assembly that was adopted in April, the assembly should be convened every time a veto is used in the Security Council by any of its permanent members. The General Assembly should meet within ten days from the use of the veto.