Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Explanation of vote by First Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy after UNSC vote on a draft resolution on establishing a SC Commission to investigate into claims presented in the complaint lodged by the Russian Federation under Article 6 of the BTWC

Mr.President,

We regret that the Council failed to invoke the mechanism provided for in Article 6 of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC). I remind that according to the BTWC, "each state party to the Convention undertakes to co-operate in carrying out any investigation which the Security Council may initiate, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, on the basis of the complaint received by the Council."

During the elaboration process of this draft resolution, Western states demonstrated in every possible way that they placed themselves above the law and were not going to implement this provision. They proved ready to trample on every norms and infringe on every rule – in line with the colonial thinking that they are accustomed to. We have long ceased to be surprised by that.

 Regardless of the results of today’s vote, we retain our questions to the United States and Ukraine. The materials that were attached to our complaint still require clarification.

We will continue to act within the BTWC framework and make the necessary efforts to establish all the facts related to the violation by the United States and Ukraine of obligations under the BTWC in the context of the activities of biological laboratories on Ukrainian territory. Sooner or later, all perpetrators will have to be accountable for such illegal activities in front of the global community anyway. We will continue taking efforts to strengthen the BTWC regime in the interests of ensuring our national, as well as regional and global security. In particular, we will take such efforts during the Ninth Review Conference of the Convention that is scheduled to take place in Geneva on November 28 - December 16, 2022.

Thank you.