Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia presents the program of the Russia’s Presidency on the UN Security Council for the month of September at press conference at world headquarters in New York Sep. 3, 2019.

By Gary Raynaldo  /  DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

UNITED NATIONS –  NEW YORK –  RUSSIA officially took over the rotating Presidency of the UN Security Council Tuesday. The Russian Federation’s ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia will preside as President at the Security Council for the month of September. The presidency of the council is held by each of the members for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the member states’ Names.  Russia follows Poland which held the presidency the month of August.  The UN Security Council comprises  15 member states, including five permanent members – the United Kingdom, China, Russia, the United States and France.  Russia’s presidency will feature a ministerial-level debate late in the month on the cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organisations, with a focus on the role of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov will preside. The situation in Libya, Syria (chemical weapons)  and Afghanistan will be high on the Security Council’s agenda this month under the leadership of Russia. In addition, Russia  will convene a briefing late in the month, on “Peace and Security in Africa: partnership to maintain regional peace and security”.  The Council will also hold its monthly briefing on Yemen and on the Middle East (Israel/Palestine).  Before ambassador Nebenzia presented his country’s Security Council program, he took few moments to reflect on the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II.

“Before we proceed, let me mention that these days the world is commemorating the beginning of one of the most tragic pages in the global history. Eighty years ago, the Hitler-led Third Reich waged World War II that inflicted gravest  wounds on all nations of Europe, the USSR, and millions of people throughout the globe. The people of the world had the upper hand in the war against the absolute evil. However, it was the peoples of the USSR who took the main blow of Nazism upon themselves, who offered heroic resistance, went through immense ordeals and in doing so defined the outcome of the war, defeated the enemy and brought liberation to other nations,”  UN ambassador Nebenzia stated.

DIPLOMATIC TIMES Video / Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia presents the program of the Russia’s Presidency on the UN Security Council for the month of September at press conference at world headquarters in New York Sep. 3, 2019. 

DIPLOMATIC TIMES Video / Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia  speaks on Russia relations on Security Council,  and military role in Syria Sep. 3, 2019 New York. 

Russia Ambassador Contends U.S. Violated Ceasefire Agreement in Syria

A ceasefire by Syrian government forces come into force last Saturday Aug. 31 in the rebel-held province of Idlib, Russia announced at the time.   “We will be discussing Syria during the month, both at our regular meetings and if anything pops up. Indeed, the ceasefire in Idlib was announced by the Syrian Army and Russian forces on August 31. Paradoxically, the ceasefire was violated by the U.S. bombing of one of the sites in Idlib which this time resulted in destruction and civilian life loss at that area. It was not coordinated through our deconfliction mechanism as it is normally done with our American colleagues,” ambassador Nebenzia stated.

Credit: Gary Raynaldo /  Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia  

“We Want A Peaceful Afghanistan” –  Russia UN ambassador 

On the  Security Councils’  involvement in Afghanistan:

“The Security Council regularly discusses the issue, including talks between U.S. and Taliban will be subject of consideration.   We  have consultations with the United States on Afghanistan which are I think quite helpful and productive. We don’t have any double agenda invested. We are interested in peaceful settlement in that  war torn country that suffered for too long. and we wish Afghani  people themselves reach an agreement  that will be Afghani-led and Afghani-conducive. Of course the issue of the withdrawal of foreign troops from  Afghanistan is one of the key things of negotiations between the us and Taliban. What will happen after eventual withdraw…  that is  also an issue of concern. We know that the Afghani forces are being prepared and strengthened to cope with the potential threats that they may encounter. We see that  the wave of terrorism in Afghanistan doesn’t unfortunately cease ,  these events happen every week if not every day.  We know that Afghanistan experiences influx of terrorists from other areas. This is a country which is not strange to us. “

-Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia