UNITED NATIONS, August 16. /ITAR-TASS/. The UN Security Council’s resolution on the struggle with terrorists in Iraq and Syria cannot be regarded as approval of the use of force in relation to these countries, Russia’s deputy UN envoy, Pyotr Ilyichev, said after the voting in the Security Council on Friday. The resolution had received unanimous approval.
Ilyichev drew attention to the fact that the resolution relied on Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allowed for using force against states, including military measures.
“Although the resolution was adopted on the basis of Chapter VII, it cannot be regarded as approval of the use of force,” the diplomat said.
He explained that Russia had supported the document “proceeding from its consistent position in favour of waging an uncompromising struggle against terrorism and pooling efforts for these purposes.”
“We do hope that the resolution adopted today will be a tangible step forward in the collective struggle against terrorism and confirm the international community’s support for the governments of the Republic of Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic in their efforts to resist that ill,” Ilyichev said.
The UN resolution included in the sanction list six persons connected with the activities of the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra groups operating in Iraq and Syria. Thereby it departed from the established rules of introducing such measures. Normally decisions of this kind are made by the special committee for the Security Council after consultations among countries. Ilyichev voiced serious concern over this. He believes that such a step undermines the authority of one of the Security Council’s key subsidiary organs.
“We agree that the very instance of putting notorious sponsors of terrorism deserves resonance, but we believe that neglecting the rules that regulate the operation of UN subsidiary organs is counter-productive,” he said.