Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at UNSC Briefing on the Middle East
Main statement:
Madam President,
We note France’s initiative to convene today’s meeting following the intensification of hostilities in the friendly Republic of Lebanon. We thank Ms. Rosemary DiCarlo and Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-Generals, for their briefings regarding alarming developments in the border area between Lebanon and Israel.
Madam President,
Before our very eyes, an unprecedented escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip is stretching far beyond the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, destabilizing more and more countries in the Middle East. Today, after Gaza, Beirut has also found itself at the epicenter of the crisis that has engulfed the entire region. And numerous heartrending images of Beirut’s bombing have already spread all over the world. We are also receiving more and more evidence that Israel harbors arrogant contempt for the opinion of the international community, the UN and the Security Council, and choose escalation over diplomacy. The unprecedented cyberattack, which affected thousands of innocent people, was followed by mass strikes by Israeli Air Force on south and central Lebanon. On October 1, despite calls for a ceasefire by some members of the international community and protests by others, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began the so-called “limited land operation”. At the same time, Hezbollah is returning fire on Israeli territory, also attacking military facilities deep inside Israel, near Haifa and near Tel Aviv.
Hundreds of reconnaissance and strike UAVs are operating in the skies over southern Lebanon day and night. Every hour, Israeli Air Force aircrafts carry out mass missile and bomb strikes, targeting places where Hezbollah has supposedly deployed weapons, fighters and commanders, as well as military and even civilian infrastructure of the Shia movement, including medical and media centers. The cynicism of these attacks is disheartening. Some of them target densely populated neighborhoods in Beirut and other Lebanese cities. It would appear that West Jerusalem is not only flagrantly flouting the principles of international humanitarian law, but is also treating civilian casualties as some sort of “collateral damage”, just as a proverb says “you can't chop wood without making the wood chips fly”.
In the September 27, bombing that killed Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, six high-rise residential buildings were reduced to a pile of rubble, along with all the civilians who were there at the time. The warnings addressed to the Lebanese about the need to leave a particular area or facility are of a perfunctory nature and, in fact, cannot be executed. As a result, the number of civilian casualties is rising by the day and is many times greater than the losses among the ranks of the Shia movement.
We see no justification whatsoever for further civilian casualties, which already number in the thousands. We stand in solidarity with the leadership and the people of the Land of the Cedars, which is once again being subjected to Israel’s armed aggression. Although the land invasion of Lebanon has so far affected very limited areas, more than one million residents of southern Lebanon have already been forced to flee their homes and become internally displaced persons. Over 400,000 people managed to cross the border with neighboring Syria before the Israeli Air Force executed a targeted strike, destroying the road near the Masnaa border crossing, thereby blocking traffic between Beirut and Damascus.
As far as we can see, United Nations peacekeepers are also being targeted by Israel. This, as we all understand, is a war crime and deserves the most decisive reaction from all of us.
Israeli military raids into Lebanese territory result in fierce clashes with Hezbollah fighters, with both parties suffering critical losses and pulling back to their initial positions. In general, the forces are not equal, and Israel is demonstrating its willingness to annihilate its enemy at any cost, whatever civilian casualties it may entail. In other words, the same scenario that we’ve seen in Gaza is now unfolding in Lebanon.
And in these circumstances, the Security Council is doing nothing but silently watching how the Israeli war machine is systematically pushing the entire region into chaos. And this is the fault of the USA, who paralyzed the Security Council, even though this is a body that, as per the UN Charter, has the mandate to maintain international peace and security, and has the necessary tools to stop the violence. At the same time, no longer are there any talks about the fate of the Israeli hostages remaining in captivity of Hamas, nor discussions about the implementation of US-touted UNSC Resolution 2735, which endorsed the so-called “Biden plan”. Our American colleagues became less assertive in raising these issues in the UN Security Council, but, nevertheless, they continue to block any attempts by the members of the Security Council to adopt decisions that would pave the way to a ceasefire in the region. Israel has now gone “all-in” despite the bitter experience of the 2006 campaign. And its American “partners in crime” are compelled to join this “all-or-nothing game” as well, even though they are also burdened by the electoral campaign that is reaching its climax. Everything is clear with this “partnership”; the only question is what UNSC members are to do in these circumstances. We cannot speak for our colleagues, but we remain convinced that what the Council should prioritize is a prompt ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Should we achieve this objective, a de-escalation of the political and military situation in Lebanon and in the Middle East as a whole will immediately follow. We do believe that durable and long-lasting peace in the Middle East will come only after the resolution of this cornerstone problem – the Palestinian issue – and the subsequent launch of a comprehensive political settlement process within the well-known international legal framework.
We also demand a full and comprehensive implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, which lays out Israel’s commitments to cease its offensive military operations, withdraw its armed forces from southern Lebanon, and end the occupation of Lebanese lands, as well as Hezbollah’s commitment to withdraw its formations north of the Litani River. We are fully supportive of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, which plays a stabilizing role along the Blue Line, and emphasize that it is critical to ensure the safety of the “blue helmets”, who are exposed to unpredictable risks due to the Israeli presence on the Blue Line.
To reach all these objectives, Russia is ready to harness the entire impressive arsenal of measures and means at the disposal of the UN Security Council. We know what we will do, but unfortunately, we are not so sure about our colleagues on the Security Council. Some of them are just afraid to offend their American ally, and that this fear overrides all other considerations. Thus, the maximum that they are prepared to do is to deliver fine but empty speeches in this chamber.
On our part, we will continue to deploy extensive diplomatic efforts in order to de-escalate the situation and to avert the extreme catastrophic scenario. Earlier this year, on October 3, Russia sent humanitarian consignment to Beirut. We see that many of our colleagues are doing the same. However, humanitarian efforts are clearly insufficient in circumstances whereby Israel and the United States are pouring fuel to the flames of the most destructive escalation in the Middle East and flagrantly flouting international law and the United Nations Charter. Yet, certain colleagues are holding the Council hostage and have already five times cast veto to defend Israeli interests. And at the same time they are cynically ascribing the ineffectiveness of the UNSC to the need to reform the Council. The effectiveness of the Council is in our hands, and it is in our power to make it effective, and to make it right now. We stand ready for this and are resolute to work together with everyone who cherishes the UN Charter and international law.
Right of reply:
We have heard it many times before. I have a strong feeling of déjà vu. This is the only thing that the US representation has to say in response to fair criticism about the US role in the Middle East crisis.
