UNITED NATIONS, August 31. /TASS/. The United Nations Security Council has not passed Russia’s draft resolution on lifting sanctions off Mali in September 2024, a TASS correspondent reported on Wednesday.

Russia voted in favor of the document, Japan was against, while other members of the UN Security Council, including China, abstained.

The draft suggested that the sanctions regime, which has been in force since September 2017, be extended for one more year, until August 31, 2024, for the last time.

Western delegations initiated their draft resolution, which also provided for a one-year extension of the sanctions, did not mention that this is the last such extension. Russia vetoes the Western draft.

Before the voting on the Russian draft, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebezya stressed that Russia would not support other drafts on the sanctions against Mali. "I would like to say once again <…> to the US representative - if this resolution is not passed, there will be no return to the discussion of any new draft," he warned.

Both drafts envisaged the extension of the sanction regime, which expires on August 31, 2023, for one more year, or until August 31, 2023. Since neither of them has been passed, the sanction regime will not be extended, which means that the sanctions against Mali will become ineffective from September 1, 2023.

In any case, sanctions are formalized by special laws on the national level, hence, countries are free to extend their national restrictions against Mali but such steps will not be backed by a UN Security Council resolution.

Under the current regime of restrictions imposed on Mali, the sanction list may include individuals and organizations responsible for actions jeopardizing peace, security or stability in Mali, in particular those who are participating in hostilities in violation of the 2015 peace agreement, hindering its implementation, hampering humanitarian assistance, violating international humanitarian law, and involved in recruiting children.

Those put on the blacklist are banned from visiting foreign countries and their assets and economic resources were frozen.