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,
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 and other international documents.
Mr. President,
We would also like to respond to the unsubstantiated statements by Western countries with regards to Russia’s cooperation with Iran and DPRK.
It is long overdue for our US and European colleagues to stop their speculations about alleged Iranian supplies of drones to Russia or anywhere else bypassing the procedures established by the UNSC Resolution 2231. We have repeatedly shared our assessments in this regard in New York (including in our letters to the UN Secretary-General and President of the UNSC). We will not leave these further provocative statements without a response either.
We note the artificial, unsubstantiated and politically motivated nature of the US and EU claims against Teheran that are based on groundless suspicions, unfounded statements and untenable conclusions presented as hard facts. Noone has been able so far to demonstrate any conclusive material evidence of the supplies of these means. Pictures of some equipment and wreckage compiled by the US, the UK and their Ukrainian beneficiaries have no clear signs allowing to attribute them to Iran and hence cannot serve as a prove of the supplies Teheran is being accused of. Such “information products” lack any credibility. It is not possible to establish the origin and the authenticity of the Western “pseudo-proofs”, nor to find out whether they were indeed collected in Ukraine and not in other parts of the world where the US and the UK conducted their evidence collection procedures.
Mr. President,
We reject all categorical insinuations by the US and their allies regarding the development of bilateral cooperation between Russia and DPRK. Those are no more than yet another cynical and hypocritical attempt to build up pressure on our countries and distract attention from reckless escalatory actions by Washington and its allies in the region that are the real source of threat for international peace and security.
The US and its allies in the face of the Republic of Korea and Japan pursue the policy of toughening the sanctions and military pressure against DPRK. Washington has significantly enhanced the scale and intensity of joint combat trainings. US strategic capabilities are being moved into the subregion on a rotational basis. We see more active steps to involve NATO into the affairs on the Korean Peninsula. Trilateral air defense exercises between the US, the Republic of Korea and Japan are getting regular. A mechanism to exchange intelligence about missile launches by DPRK is being enacted.
These military activities go beyond the routine defense objectives. The motives obviously lie in containing Russia and China and not only in countering the North Korean “threat”.
From its part, Russia has always been against any military activities posing a threat to the security of the Korean Peninsula and the neighboring countries. We call to settle the nuclear and other issues on the Korean Peninsula exclusively by political and diplomatic means through negotiations. We are convinced that the sanctions have fully exhausted their potential and proved inefficient in pushing Pyongyang to suspend or dismantle its nuclear program.
Thank you for your attention.
