MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. The draft resolution on the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz proposed by Bahrain cannot be approved by the UN Security Council, as it does not contribute to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated at a press conference following talks with top Egyptian diplomat Badr Abdel Aaty.
"Such a decision by the UN Security Council would hardly increase the chances of a peaceful settlement, let alone the reputation of this body," he noted.
To justify his stated position, Lavrov cited two arguments. First of all, the top diplomat pointed out that "the key point of this resolution, aside from describing the difficulties and calls for Iran not to respond to strikes on its territory, is a paragraph that authorizes all interested states, whether in a national capacity or as part of some coalitions, to use all necessary measures to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz." During the discussion, he continued, the wording "all necessary defensive measures" appeared in the text, but it was immediately supplemented with the caveat "proportionate to the circumstances."
"Who will determine these circumstances?" Lavrov remarked. "Of course, it will be those very states that are given the right to use ‘all necessary defensive measures.’ It is clear what is being discussed. We know how our Western colleagues previously treated seemingly entirely defensive UNSC decisions: they immediately turned them upside down and used them for their aggressive actions."
As a second argument, the minister drew attention to the fact that the mentioned "defensive measures proportionate to the circumstances" would be applied against those states, primarily in the region, in the Persian Gulf zone, that will not participate in these defensive measures at all, which would be "a direct violation of their sovereignty."