Statement by Vassiliy Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Somalia
Mr. President,
At the outset let me express sincere condolences to the Somali colleagues with regard to the heinous terrorist attack carried out by “Al-Shabaab” last weekend in a Mogadishu hotel “Elite”. Dear friends, please, accept our words of sympathy.
Mr. President,
We thank SRSG James Swan and AU Special Representative and Head of AMISOM Francisco Madeira for their informative briefings on the situation in Somalia. We also welcome new permanent Representative of Belgium Philippe Kridelka at his first in-person meeting of the Security Council.
The Russian Federation welcomes Mogadishu’s efforts on achieving political stability, normalization of the social and economic situation and gradual establishment of the democratic institutions in the country. We consistently stand for territorial integrity and unity of Somalia.
The recent months saw the Federal government achieving notable results in its dialogue with the federal member states on the preparations for the next year elections. We hope that the summit ongoing this week in Galmudug will allow to identify the modalities of the future vote.
Mogadishu’s commitment to holding a one-person one-vote elections deserves full support. We stay convinced that the broadest possible implementation of the electoral model could potentially help Somalia find a way out from the current political impasse and state of a permanent all-out war. It could also deal a heavy blow to the positions of “Al-Shabaab”, who is genuinely interested in retaining a traditional clan-based system of voting.
We positively assess the virtual consultations of the Federal government with leadership of Jubbaland, Galmudug, Puntland, Hirshabelle and South West State which have become a regular practice these months. We are concerned about the breakdown in August of the second round of talks between delegations of Somalia and the self-proclaimed Somaliland. We urge both sides to consider a compromise way of resolving the differences.
We share the conclusion of the latest Secretary-General’s report that the security situation in Somalia remains volatile. “Al-Shabaab” does not stop its terrorist activity. The fight with extremists is affected by the poor supply of weapons to AMISOM, its weak procurement in military equipment, in particular helicopters, lack of interaction with the Somali National Army and general passivity of the Somali authorities on the issues of reestablishment of the local administration and security structures in the liberated areas.
We believe that it is our common task to identify the proper response to the threat posed to the country by the IEDs that “Al-Shabaab” increasingly relies on in its operations.
In these conditions AMISOM remains an extremely important component in the fight against terrorists. We supported the mandate extension of the African peacekeepers till the end of February 2021. Considering the prospects of gradual withdrawal of the mission the task of strengthening the capability of the Somali National Army comes to the forefront. We are however opposed to the attempts by several countries to expedite the reduction of AMISOM.
In the current circumstances we deem it important for the Security Council to continue working in a joint and systematic manner on reaching agreement on the multifaceted assistance measures to the country’s authorities with a view of settling the internal crisis in Somalia.
Thank you.
