Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Remarks to the press by Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, following the UNSC meeting on the DPRK

Q: We are interested in your position on sanctions. Are you open and willing to consider sanctions on North Korea?

A: First of all, I would like to start by saying that this is, of course, a flagrant violation of previous Security Council resolutions, including the latest one that was adopted on August, 5, just one month ago. And every Council member condemned the latest test the DPRK has conducted.  We all spoke out. There were proposals that there may be another resolution, which the United States volunteered to draft. It has not been out yet. We will have to see what will be in it. There was a history brief by some delegations how previous resolutions on DPRK were adopted and not implemented, which unfortunately proves what we were saying: resolutions, aimed solely at sanctioning North Korea, have not worked very well before. Many delegations, including ours – I think, most of them – said that: a) there is no military solution to the conflict, b) that we have to look for diplomatic and political solution. What will be in the draft resolution – we will have to see. We have not seen it yet.

Q: Ambassador Haley said that the strongest measures possible should be imposed – that obviously leads to a ban on textiles, a ban on oil, a ban on further farm workers working abroad. How would Russia feel about such measures?

A: Sanctions alone, whatever bans are introduced will not help to solve the issue, because the aim is to stop nuclearization, to go for denuclearization and eventually, hopefully, to come back to six-party talks. So whatever measures we are planning now, I’m not sure that they will influence the other side to abandon what they have been doing. This is not the way to get parties tj the table and to seek for a political solution which we all are in favor of.

Q: What is your response to Ambassador Haley calling freeze-for-freeze proposal insulting?

A: I didn’t respond to that but I was wondering really what is insulting about that? This is the only proposal for political way out of this situation which is on the table at the moment.

Q: I feel like Russia and China struck a very moderate time today?

A: Moderate? What do you find moderate in strong condemning of the recent tests?

Q: Moderate in that you didn’t mention your opposition to THAAD and you didn’t mention sanctions.

A: I mentioned sanctions. I have been mentioning THAADs so many times that I think everybody now remembers it by heart.