'Russia not threatening nuclear war,' says Russian UN Security Council president
Russian ambassador to the United Nations held on Monday his first news briefing as president of the Security Council, amid international criticism against Russia's Putin, accused of war crimes.
Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, who assumed the charge on Saturday (April 1), told reporters that as long as the current world order in the UN stands, "there will be no change in the rules of procedure."
He also rebutted accusations that Russia is "threatening nuclear war," called the claims "propaganda" and denied the use of nuclear weapons as part of the Russian military doctrine.
The last time Russia held the rotating presidency of the Security Council, the body responsible for maintaining peace and combating acts of international aggression, was in February 2022 when Moscow troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The presidency rotates alphabetically each month among the 15 members. Although it is largely procedural, the Kremlin and other Russian officials vowed to "exercise all its rights" in the role.
In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) - an international justice body not associated with the UN - issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin and his commissioner for children's rights Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.
Russia, which holds the monthly rotating presidency of the 15-member body for April, told council members in a note that it plans to hold an informal meeting on Wednesday on Ukraine, focused on "evacuating children from the conflict zone."
Nebenzia said on Monday that the meeting briefers would be announced shortly. Such meetings are held at UN headquarters, but not in the Security Council chamber, and briefings can be done virtually.
While a feature of Russia's presidency, members do not need to be the rotating monthly president to hold such meetings.
The 193-member UN General Assembly has criticized Russia for violating the founding UN Charter by invading Ukraine and called for a "comprehensive, just and lasting peace" in line with the principles of the UN Charter.
Given Russia's Security Council presidency started on April 1, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told reporters on Monday: "It's like an April Fool's joke... We expect that they will behave professionally."
Thomas-Greenfield also said the US expects Russia to use their seat "to spread disinformation and to promote their agenda as it relates to Ukraine", saying they are ready to call them out.
Reuters
