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Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations |
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Postal
Address: 136 East 67 Street, New York, N.Y. 10021 |
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Statement of the President of the Russian Federation on Airstrikes against Iraq
In the early hours of December 17, the United States and Great Britain delivered missile and bomb strikes against targets on Iraq’s territory, inflicting loss of life and substantial material damage.
Such a development which Russia has resolutely opposed gives rise to most serious concern, indignation and deep anxiety. The UN Security Council resolutions on Iraq do not provide any grounds for such actions. By use of force, the US and Great Britain have fragrantly violated the UN Charter and universally accepted principles of international law, as well as norms and rules of responsible conduct of states in the international arena. The military strike was delivered precisely at the time when the Security Council was discussing the Iraq issue.
In fact, the entire system of international security with the UN and the Security Council as its center-piece has been undermined. Russia consistently made intensive efforts aimed at an early solution of the Iraq problem. We are still confident, that the potential for a political and diplomatic solution of the crisis was far from being exhausted. That was proved by the largely normal course of Iraq’s recent cooperation with the United Nations.
It is outrageous that the countries that carried out the military action did not find it possible to continue the search for a political compromise. The military strikes seriously damaged the immense amount of work done in recent years to forge a post-crisis settlement in the Persian Gulf area and dismantle Iraq’s potential of mass destruction weapons and means of their delivery.
Russia demands that an immediate end be put to actions involving use of military force, that restraint and prudence be shown, and further escalation of conflict be prevented. Since it would be fraught with most tragic consequences not only for the Iraqi settlement but also for the stability in the entire region. The resolution of the Iraq problem can only be found through political and diplomatic means on the basis of compliance with the UN Security Council resolutions and international law.
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Постоянное Представительство Российской Федерации при ООН |
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Почтовый
адрес: 136 East 67 Street, New York, N.Y. 10021 |
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Заявление недоступно (см. английский)
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