Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at UNSC meeting on Somalia
Mr. President,
This is a very special day for the Security Council. Today, for the first time since 8 December 2020 it convenes an in-person meeting. We thank the Chinese Presidency for making this possible. It was our consistent position, and we continuously stressed that we must return to the Security Council chamber. In our view, we could have done it earlier, or, maybe, we should not have left the chamber at all. In fact, our meetings were on pause for almost half a year. We hope that subsequent presidencies will stick to the same position and that our meetings in this room will become more and more frequent until one day all our meetings assume an in-person format instead of the virtual one, which we have already had for 18 months.
Mr. President,
We thank Special Representative of the Secretary-General James Swan and Special Representative of the African Union and Head of AMISOM Francisco Madeira for their informative briefings. We welcome the participation in this meeting of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Somalia Mohamed Abdirizak.
We have thoroughly studied the latest report of the Secretary-General.
The Russian Federation continues to closely follow the evolving situation in Somalia, which is living through an acute internal political crisis caused by the lack of national consensus with regard to the elections. We welcome the convening of a nationwide conference in Mogadishu which brought together representatives of federal executive authorities and heads of regional administrations in order to resolve the remaining outstanding issues. We commend that the Federal Government of Somalia, which remains very flexible and ready to negotiate, made a considerable contribution to organizing this conference. We welcome the positive signals implying that some arrangements as to the electoral model have been made.
We would like to underscore that violence must not repeat. In this regard, we welcome the role of Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble in de-escalating tension in Somalia’s capital city and arranging withdrawal of opposition-controlled armed security units and militias. Also, we welcome the announced re-establishment of diplomatic contacts between Somalia and Kenya. Like the Secretary-General, we do hope that it will help the two states fully restore relations based on the good neighborly spirit and cooperation.
We call on the United Nations and the regional actors to set forth assistance for Somalia given full respect for its sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence, and non-interference in Somalia’s internal affairs.
Mr. President,
We agree with the conclusion of the SG report that security situation in Somalia remains complicated. Militants from “Al-Shabaab” undertake more frequent attacks with the use of vehicle-borne IEDs. Added to bombardments of the Mogadishu airport and military pressure in Lower Shabelle, this fact proves that this group seeks to use the domestic political crisis in order to strengthen its positions. We call on the Somali authorities and AMISOM to not cease their fight against extremists.
We proceed from the understanding that the African peacekeeping mission remains the key security element in Somalia. We expect the African Union to make all necessary decisions regarding the parameters of transfer of responsibility for security in Somalia from AMISOM to the Somali National Army. The crisis clearly shows that all decisions must be well-calibrated, and that enforcement of AMISOM’s drawdown is unacceptable.
In conclusion, Mr.President, let me once again say that we hope Somali political forces will realize their national priorities and concrete tasks that would help restore stability in the country and path the way towards preparing for and convening the elections. Russia will do its best to facilitate this process.
Thank you.
