Statement by Ambassador Vassily A. Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, during the UN Security Council meeting on the US resolution after the vote on extending the JIM mandate
The Russian Federation voted against the draft resolution (S/2017/884) that was submitted by the United States on the technical extension of the mandate of the United Nations-Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM). It is regrettable that the authors have chosen a path of confrontation and division in the Security Council. That is exactly the kind of politicization that we have been talking about today and, incidentally, that same cynicism that the representatives of the United States have talked about. We want to emphasize that we too are very concerned about the use of chemical weapons in Syria. In response to the representative of the United Kingdom, I can affirm everything that Foreign Minister Lavrov has said, whom he quoted today, for which I thank him. Every incident should be investigated and the perpetrators found and punished. Speaking for ourselves, that is what we are working to achieve. But what do those words have to do with today’s meeting?
I want to emphasize that today’s vote is also meaningless because it will not affect the fate of the JIM in any way. It will go on functioning as it did before. We will return to the discussion of the question of its extension.
(spoke in English) We have not stopped it, as the representative of Great Britain said. We have not brought it to an end. (spoke in Russian) Since it is possible that some here were not listening very attentively to my statement, I will quote myself again: “Today’s decision will in no way affect the future of the Joint Investigative Mechanism. The way it functions up to 17 November is the way it will continue to function”.
In response to my friend and colleague from Uruguay, who is concerned about the fate of the unfortunate JIM staff, we will of course be sorry for them, if need be, although nothing has happened to them yet. But the JIM is not a charity for the support of its employees’ families. It is dealing with something rather more important, and the tasks ahead of it are considerably more important than that, although it is of course important too. We will have time to worry about the fate of the families of employees. There is no need to insist on it right now.
I found it amusing today that not one but several delegations read out prepared statements condemning some countries’ use of the veto. Did they know in advance that we would exercise the right of veto today? That only confirms that today we have been witnessing a staged performance with a single goal, that of pillorying one particular country. Incidentally, I have a request for those who talk to the journalists at the stake-out after today’s meeting, which is to ask them to please not distort our position. I have already been obliged to repeat myself, and I will say once again that we have not shut down the JIM, we simply have not made a decision about its extension today, and we will return to the issue.
Just one more thing. It is regrettable that today’s meeting was held at all. But it is clear that whoever requested it knew what the scenario would be ahead of time, and that their aims were certainly not what they declared them to be in their statements. We will return to the question of extending the mandate of the JIM after the release of its report and a calm discussion in the Security Council of its content and conclusions. We will see what kind of mandate it should have in order to ensure that it performs its work objectively and professionally and so that we do not have meetings like today’s in the future.
