On Russia to Review Relations with United Nations Regarding Drone Investigation, Diplomat: Didn't Mean Threatening

Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia. (Wimedia Commons/Direct

JAKARTA - Russia may review its relationship with the UN Secretariat in the case of the drone investigation in Ukraine, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, said on Wednesday.

"I don't mean to say that we threaten to stop cooperation. But, of course, we will review our cooperation, given the reaction of the Secretariat to our legitimate concerns", he said, as reported by TASS on October 27.

Ukraine and Western countries accuse Iran of supplying its drones to Russia for further use in Ukraine, a violation of UN Security Council resolution 2231 that approved the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program. The West is demanding a UN mission be sent to Ukraine to investigate the drone's origin.

As previously reported, Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, said there was no evidence of selling Iranian drones to his country, warning that he would review his relations with the United Nations, in connection with an investigation into allegations that Tehran used drones to attack Ukraine.

"On the role of the UN Secretariat: The UN Secretariat has no mandate to investigate anything related to UN Security Council resolution 2231", Polyansky said, after closing UN Security Council consultations on the alleged shipment of Iranian drones to Russia last week.

"We hope that the Secretariat and the Secretary-General himself will no longer violate the decisions of the UN Security Council, will not go beyond their technical mandates, and will not engage in unauthorized investigations. Otherwise, we will have to reassess our collaboration with them, which is hardly in anyone's interest. We don't want to do it, but there will be no other choice", he stressed.