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Russian diplomat rejects accusations of using Iranian drones in Ukraine as groundless

The new batch of accusations came in connection with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ report on Iran’s implementation of resolution 2231 banning the export of several types of products, including drones, from Iran

UNITED NATIONS, June 23. /TASS/. Allegations that Russia is using Iranian drones in Ukraine are absolutely groundless, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said on Friday.

Before the UN Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, the US, Ukrainian, British, and Albanian envoys came out with a statement accusing Russia of using Iranian drones in Ukraine and hatching plans of building a plant for manufacturing Iranian-designed drones in Russia.

The new batch of accusations came in connection with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ report on Iran’s implementation of resolution 2231 banning the export of several types of products, including drones, from Iran. The report was presented to a select group on Thursday.

"It's not the first time that we hear allegations about us using Iranian drones in Ukraine. We categorically rejected. These are baseless allegations and blatant attempts to deliberately mislead the international community," the Russian diplomat said.

The UN chief may mention in his report the fact that some countries are claiming that Iran may be violating resolution 2231. When allegations about Russia using Iranian drones first surfaced in late 2022, Guterres opted not to do that. He did not even react to the calls for a probe into such reports. Nebenzya said back then that such an investigation would force Russia to revise its relations with the UN Secretariat.

According to the Russian diplomat, Russia sees no grounds for such an investigation even today. "We expect the Secretariat to strictly abide by its mandate and not to yield to pressure exerted by some states," he stressed.

Resolution 2231 obliges the UN chief to regularly report to the UN Security Council about its implementation. The United States and a number of Western countries insist that this means that the secretary general can call a probe into suspected violations of the sanctions. Russia argues that the resolution does not automatically provide for such authority and it is up to the UN Security Council alone to decide on initiating any investigations.

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