Right of Reply by Konstantin Vorontsov, Deputy Head of the Russian Delegation, at the General Debate in the First Committee of the 78th session of the UNGA
Mr. President,
Allow me to join the voices of concern over the events in Gaza and on Palestinian territories on the whole. We are deeply concerned by hundreds of victims among Israelis and Palestinians. We stress the inadmissibility of any violence, damage and killings of civilians (regardless of the side they are on), as well as taking women and children as hostage. We call to immediately cease any hostilities and violence in the region and to enter talks with a view to settling the Palestinian issue based on the two-state formula in accordance with UNSC decisions, the agreements of Oslo and Madrid, as well as the Arab Peace Initiative.
Mr. President,
We reject all allegations by the Georgian delegation against our country as groundless. Russia has recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia based on the free expression of will of the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia guided by the provisions of the UN Charter, the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States, the 1975 CSCE Helsinki Final Act and other fundamental international documents. The attack against South Ossetia perpetrated by the Saakashvili regime in August 2008 and the preparation of a similar attacks against Abkhazia that were a culmination of Tbilisi’s long-year violent policy against these small nations left them with no other choice but to ensure their security and their right to existence through self-determination as independent states. Having repelled Georgia’s aggression, our country guaranteed the survival and peaceful future of the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Mr. President,
I would like to briefly respond to a number of statements made earlier by the US representative on the issue of strategic stability. In particular, my colleague mentioned the new Russian weapon systems and his regrets that they are not covered by the New START Treaty. However, the US side knows full well that the emergence of these weapons is a direct reflection of our need to maintain the strategic balance in the context of the destabilizing US program aimed at developing a global ABM system. The New START Treaty clearly states the inseparable link between strategic offensive and strategic defensive weapons. But for some reason the colleague forgot to mention that the US have been neglecting this link throughout the whole period of existence of the Treaty.
Speaking about the quantitative parameters of non-strategic nuclear weapons, the US representative also modestly kept silent about the fact that the Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons are based exclusively within the Union State and are not deployed. Whereas the US nuclear weapons are deployed at the front bases in Europe thousand of kilometers away from the US and are capable of swiftly reaching targets deep into the Union State. Saying that the quantities of these weapons in Europe are not changing, colleague chose not to mention the fact that Washington has financed modernization of the storage facilities in the UK – a clear indication that there are plans to return US nuclear bombs there.
Naturally, the US representative did not mention such glaring facts as statements by Pentagon representatives reported by the media in favor of a decapitation strike against Moscow, if needed, in order to – I quote – “kill Putin in the heart of the Kremlin”. So, whose rhetoric is reckless?
Further unsubstantiated fantasies of the US representative regarding the alleged violation of the INF Treaty by Russia are not worth additional comments. Everyone in this hall is perfectly aware of the fact that the Treaty was deliberately and cynically dismantled by Washington itself that made no secret of its wish to have a freedom of action in choosing the means for exercising forced pressure against its opponents. We still remember the respective vivid explanations by Mr. Bolton in this regard.
Thank you for your attention.
