Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Statement by Ambassador Vassily A. Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, at the Security Council meeting on the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)

The Russian delegation voted in favour of resolution 2433 (2018), regarding the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), taking into account, first and foremost, the endorsement of the Lebanese side of the new version of the text. That is a key principle of any peacekeeping operation.

The activities of UNIFIL peacekeepers are having a stabilizing effect not only along the Blue Line, which separates Lebanon and Israel, but within the Lebanese State itself and in the Middle East as a whole. We highly value the work of the Tripartite Mechanism in preventing and resolving incidents.

That mission should be preserved, and we should avoid attempts to transform it into a politicized instrument.

We must bear in mind that peacekeepers are there to help Lebanese State institutions, including security structures; they are not there to replace them.

We are convinced that the further activities of this important peacekeeping operation will be conducted while respectfully bearing in mind the views of the Lebanese Government. Any other approach would be unacceptable.