MOSCOW, May 2. /TASS/. Russia has been thanked for its effective presidency in the United Nations Security Council in April even by those countries that doubted its ability to do so, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said on Tuesday.

"We held the presidency in the Security Council in February 2022, when the special military operation was launched and back then, theoretically, we could have abused it on this one matter but we did not and won respect from our colleagues for that," he told Russia’s TV Channel One. "Now, after our presidency ended, all of them thanked us for it. And this was done even by those who initially doubted our ability to be effective as president."

He recalled that ahead of Russia’s presidency there had been a lot of talk in the Western media that Russia had no right to take the presidency in the Security Council and must cede its turn to someone else. "It was a kind of artillery drill in a bid to exert pressure on us," he said, adding that Russia was aware that "the Americans would keep a close eye on how we carried out our functions."

"We never abused our prerogatives as president and always performed them honestly and professionally," he stressed.