2023-04-26 13:05:50
Russia wants Switzerland to take into account the imbalances, according to it, in the UN Security Council when it chairs it on Monday. She asks him to try to restore the role of the body for peace and security.
“I hope that Switzerland will manage to take this situation into consideration,” said Russian ambassador to the UN in Geneva Gennady Gatilov on Wednesday. “I understand that she has her own work program and will focus on what seems important to her,” he insisted to the correspondents accredited to the UN in Geneva (ACANU), without further details.
Russia is still presiding over the Security Council for a few days in the midst of the war in Ukraine. She has been accused, including by Bern, of “misinformation” regarding Ukraine in certain meetings before the most important body of the UN. Switzerland is to take over the presidency from him on Monday for a month.
This week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was accused of “hypocrisy” by Ukraine in chairing a discussion on multilateralism. Like Switzerland, Moscow is asking for a reform of the Security Council to broaden it further to include African, Asian and Latin American countries.
The body “should take into consideration the positions of all groups of countries” and not be used as a “platform” for political accusations, the ambassador said. But Westerners “think they have the authority to speak on behalf of the entire international community,” he laments.
“Promises” only
He also regretted that Russia only hears “promises” from the UN on its demands related to its fertilizer exports to agree to extend the Ukrainian grain deal. “No real progress” has been made, Mr. Gatilov complained.
“The decision is not made yet,” he said. First renewed for four months, the arrangement was then accepted by Moscow for only two months and is due to expire on May 18.
“The UN recognizes that it has its own limits,” said the Russian ambassador. And to once more target Westerners who he says are still blocking improved Russian fertilizer exports.
Russia might work “more” to supply poor countries if this situation changes, insists Mr. Gatilov. He also asks that cereal exports, including the 28.5 million tonnes which have been transported thanks to the initiative between kyiv and Moscow, also reach these states better. They happen primarily in European countries, he says.
Call relayed by Moscow
Lavrov met UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres a few days ago in New York. He proposed a way forward, in particular so that the transactions of the Russian bank, expert in agriculture Rosselkhozbank, disconnected like the others from the international system because of the sanctions, are guaranteed by American banks.
In addition to the request for a financial reconnection, Moscow is asking for the resumption of deliveries to Russia of agricultural machinery and spare parts, the cancellation of obstacles to insuring ships and accessing foreign ports. She wants the assets of Russian companies linked to agriculture to be thawed and the pipeline that carries a chemical component widely used in agriculture to resume operation. None of these issues have been resolved, according to Gatilov.
The Ukrainian grain initiative has averted a food crisis, especially in Africa, according to the UN. It has contributed to lowering food prices once more. Mr. Gatilov also accuses Ukraine of having used humanitarian corridors for attacks in March once morest Russian ports. This approach “threatens” a renewal of the agreement, also said the ambassador.
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats
1682515606
#mandate #temporary #administrators #Meyrin
