Statement by Ambassador Vitaly I. Churkin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, during the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East
January 26, 2016
In recent years, we have seen an increase in the potential for conflict in the vast expanses of the Middle East and North Africa — from Libya to Iraq. Against that backdrop, an unprecedented increase in the terrorist threat has also occurred. But in that context we must not underestimate the explosive nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has lasted far too long. The common opinion that that conflict is something to which one has grown accustomed and that it will resolve itself is an untenable fallacy. Efforts must be made to extricate the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from its current sluggish state. Otherwise, the degradation of the situation will continue. The recent spike in violence in the Palestinian territories and in Israel is the most recent illustration of that trend.
Progress towards a political settlement means that settlement activity needs to stop. We are worried about the plans of the Israeli authorities to confiscate another 150 hectares of land south of Jericho. The policy of fait accompli conducted by the Israeli authorities undermines, in a very literal sense, the two-State solution. We are convinced that the main strategic goal should be to revive the negotiating track. Currently, substantive measures must be taken together, based on Israeli and Palestinian agreements that strengthen the Palestinian political and economic institutions, taking into account, of course, the legitimate concerns of Israel in the area of security.
In the current difficult situation, the Quartet, which speaks on behalf of the international community, is seeking a solution and a way out of the current dangerous impasse. As a result of the ministerial meetings of the Quartet on 30 September 2015 on the margins of the General Assembly at its seventieth session in New York City, as well as of similar meetings held on 23 October last year in Vienna, statements were adopted that focused on the need to implement the relevant United Nations resolutions on the settlement of the Middle East conflict. We believe that the recent visit of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process to Israel and Palestine was useful. Meetings took place with the chief negotiators of the parties, as well as with the leadership of the Foreign Ministries and security agencies.
We think that the Security Council should play an important role in efforts to settle the Middle East conflict. So as to avoid yet another acute crisis with regard to the Gaza Strip, two tasks need to be tackled: extending the control of the central Palestinian authorities in the Gaza Strip and ensuring stability around that territory. The solutions to those tasks should be sought exclusively within the framework of ensuring inter-Palestinian unity based on the Palestine Liberation Organization. We are working on an ongoing basis on the issue with the regional parties.
We expect that inter-Syrian talks will begin in the very near future. The launching of the Vienna process, which was endorsed by the Security Council in its resolution 2254 (2015), and the emergence of a number of factors conducive to a political settlement in Syria have created a unique prospect for progress in settling that conflict. We must seize that window of opportunity. We are surprised that even today some Security Council members continue to muddy the water by putting forward their unilateral interpretations of resolution 2254 (2015). That is irresponsible, and such habits should be cast aside.
In order to assist the Syrian Government, the Russian Federation continues to provide military assistance to that Government in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other terrorist groups. For the first time, ISIL forces have lost their footholds. Russia is also helping in the humanitarian sphere by providing humanitarian assistance, including in Deir ez-Zor, where ISIL fighters have besieged over 100,000 civilians. We have heard various ideas regarding Russia’s activities in Syria. We firmly reject them. It is especially strange when they are disseminated by countries that are part of the Western coalition, which, unlike the Russian Air and Space Forces, is acting in an extremely untransparent manner and not very effectively at all. But our American and English colleagues always refuse to give information about the numerous civilian victims of the coalition’s air strikes in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan.
There is an urgent need to restore national unity in Libya, where there is increasing evidence of the presence of terrorist units there. ISIL is attempting to create corridors between conflict-ridden countries in the Middle East and the North African Mediterranean. We urge the Libyan parties to respond responsibly to the efforts of the United Nations to approach the issue of forming a Government of national unity and to unite in combating terrorism.
We cannot call the situation in Yemen anything other than tragic. Fierce clashes in the country are continuing. Civilians are being killed, and the civilian infrastructure is being destroyed. We call on all the parties to the conflict to cease hostilities immediately and to resolve all existing problems through negotiations. We support the efforts of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Yemen, Mr. Ahmed Ismail, to bring that situation to a political track and begin an inter-Yemeni dialogue for a sustainable settlement. For our part, we shall provide requisite support to those efforts.
An effective response to the difficult challenges in the Middle East and North Africa can only be found collectively. There is a well-known proposal from the Russian Federation for broad cooperation to push back against terrorism and ensure a political settlements of existing crises, which remains on the table.
