Russia says UN Security Council meeting is just a US stunt

Russia on Friday denounced the scheduled United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine as a “clear PR show” staged by the United States and showed Moscow’s intention to derail it. American officials expressed confidence that the meeting, scheduled to be televised on Monday, would go ahead.

The meeting of the Security Council, the most powerful organ of the United Nations, was requested by the United States in response to Russia’s military buildup along the Ukrainian border.

The Americans and their NATO and Western allies see the construction as a prelude to a possible invasion, which they call a violation of core UN principles that have helped avoid major armed conflicts around the globe for more than seven decades.

Russia says it has no intention of invading Ukraine but wants to promise that the neighboring country will never join NATO and that the Western alliance will pull forces from Eastern Europe, which the Russians call a threat to security. their own security.

Russia’s objection to the Security Council meeting came from Dmitry Polyanskiy, its deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, who in a Post on Twitter mocked the idea announced on Thursday by the US ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

“I cannot recall another occasion when an SC member proposed to discuss their own baseless allegations and assumptions as a threat to internal order from another,” he wrote. . “Hopefully other members of the UNSC will not support this apparently shameful act of PR because of the goodwill of the UN Security Council.”

As one of the five permanent members of the 15-nation council, Russia has veto power over its decisions, but it is certain that the body will take no action on the dispute. But permanent members cannot veto the scheduling of meetings, which would require a nine-vote majority.

Senior Biden administration officials, speaking on a conference call with reporters on condition of anonymity, said they were certain that Russia’s lack of votes caused the meeting to derail.

“We are confident that there is broad support throughout the council for this meeting,” said one of the officials, “more than enough to have this conversation going.”

Another described the meeting as “a really important opportunity for all the world’s powers to note whether they see a path to diplomacy or a path to conflict”.

While don’t expect any formal action to criticize Russia’s behaviour, an open debate at the Security Council, broadcast live on the UN website, could plunge Russia into a state of disarray. shameful isolation.

Mrs. Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement On Thursday, the United States, in consultation with other unspecified members of the council and with Ukraine, requested the meeting “to discuss an issue of vital importance to peace and security.” international security: Russia’s threatening behavior towards Ukraine and the Russian military build-up on the Borders of Ukraine and in Belarus. ”

Security Council members, the ambassador said, “must look carefully at the facts and consider what is at stake for Ukraine, for Russia, for Europe, as well as its obligations and causes core principles of the international order if Russia continues to invade Ukraine.”

“This is not the time to wait and see,” she said.

Russia has repeatedly criticized the United States and its allies for their portrayal of the Ukraine crisis as Russian cruelty.

“The United States cultivates fear of Russia in its own people and people of like-minded countries, always talking about the Russian military build-up as the root cause of all problems,” the Mission said. United Nations of Russia said in a statement on its website at the beginning of the week. “However, in saying this, the United States forgot to mention that it is Russian forces deployed on Russian territory. This is in contrast to the US and NATO weapons and countless advisers that Ukraine and other countries in the vicinity of the Russian border are flooding with.”

China, a permanent member and Russian ally on the council, has called on Western nations to listen to Russia’s concerns. But China is also expected to call for dialogue and diplomacy during Monday’s debate. Other permanent members are the United States and its NATO allies, Britain and France.

The council’s non-permanent members are also expected to support a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis. These are: Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Norway and the United Arab Emirates.