Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Statement by First Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy at the UN Security Council Meeting on Conflict Prevention and Mediation

Mr. Minister,

We welcome you in the Chair of the Security Council and thank for convening this meeting. Mediation and prevention of conflicts that pose a threat to global peace and security, is indeed one of the most pressing tasks of UN activity and global policy in general.

We thank Secretary-General of the United Nations H.E. Antonio Guterres as well as President and Vice-President of “The Elders” Ms. Mary Robinson and Mr. Ban Ki-Moon for their reports.

There is little doubt that it be vital to strengthen the UN potential in conflict prevention. The UN Charter and  Member States' decisions provide all the tools required for that. In the first place, it is Chapters I and VI of the Charter, and a number of decisions by Member States, including Security Council resolution 2171 that enshrined basic principles for cooperation in this domain.

Over the recent years the UN Secretariat, the Security Council, as well as some regional and sub-regional associations completed a great bulk of analysis of reasons for conflict and ways to prevent them. In spite of this, there is no such thing as a universal and exhaustive list of conflict “indicators”. This is not surprising at all, because both practical knowledge and expertise of the Security Council tell us that every case is characterized and influenced by a unique set of factors. It means there can be no quick and universal recipes to solve large-scale problems in this area. Every situation requires a delicate, well-balanced and unbiased approach, patient search for solution. That is why no templates are applicable here.

We are convinced that any international assistance can be provided only upon consent of the affected sides. It should be impartial and void of any preconditions. “Double standards” are also unacceptable, as well as subtle political meddling aimed at toppling the legitimate authorities. Unfortunately, such situations are not uncommon today. That basically makes States more suspicious of mediation. It will suffice to recall the cases of Iraq, Libya and Syria. The international community is still tackling the effects of crises that were caused by a shameless external interference.

However, there are some who do not learn lessons from history. Today this very approach is applied to Venezuela, where the crisis entered an acute stage as a result of external sanction pressure and direct external interference. There is no surprise that as of today the most effective mediator efforts have been made by the States that were reasonable enough not to side with any of the parties to the internal Venezuelan confrontation.

Mr. President,

Crisis settlement and prevention can be a success only if there is a painstaking collective search for political and diplomatic solutions based on inclusive dialogue of all affected sides.

The United Nations is the most authoritative and representative organization, therefore it has every capability it takes to play a pivotal role in the international mediator efforts. “Good services” missions of the Secretary-General and his Special Envoys prove continuously demanded. We believe it important that UN mediators be appointed based on objective criteria and regional balance.

It is also crucial to use potential of regional and sub-regional organizations as specified in Chapter VIII of the UN Charter. Their profound knowledge of conflict nuances helps better understand the situation and, therefore, make more objective and realistic proposals on how to bring positions of the sides closer to each other.

In particular, we are satisfied to see that African countries become very initiative when it comes to solving the problems of the continent. The leadership of the African Union really has much to be proud of. In this context, we would like to underscore action of the Pan-African organization at Central African and South Sudanese tracks, though, certainly, there is still much to be done.

We positively assess the activity of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, which is based on the principles of neutrality, objectiveness and cooperation with governments of Central Asian States; and which is aimed at interaction with regional integrative associations, such as EAEU, CSTO and SCO.

We see good opportunities to develop partner relations between the UN and organizations that are enhancing their political authority and contributions to regional and global security.

We stand ready to invest collective efforts to develop preventive diplomacy. However, we believe prevention should not be perceived as cure-all and cannot be a disguise for interference in domestic affairs of sovereign States. Their consent to UN engagement is the main criterion for us.

Mr. President,

In conclusion, let me emphasize that many of world’s problems could have been avoided if some of our colleagues in the Council, instead of mentoring and using sanctions and unilateral measures of economic coercion had actually put “at the core” interests of countries they said they wanted to help. Such unilateral approaches based on blind faith in their exceptionalism and righteousness, unwillingness to listen to alternative opinions both fail any attempts to agree on collective approaches of the Security Council and seriously damage the UN authority. If we overcome this wrongful and shortsighted behavior, the capacity of our Organization in terms of conflict prevention and mediation will grow immensely.

Thank you.