Comments to the media by H.E. Mr. Vitaly I. Churkin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations on Iraq and Russian draft resolution on Ukraine
We held consultations today at the SC where we discussed two issues: first was the situation in Iraq, and on “Other matters”, the Russian delegation raised “The situation in Ukraine”.
On the situation in Iraq, we heard a briefing from Mr.Nikolay Mladenov, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Iraq and Head of UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI). Members of the Security Council authorized me to make a few comments, which are resulting from our discussion. First of all I would like to say that the members of the UNSC are united in their attitude to the situation in Iraq.
The members of the Security Council expressed their unanimous support to the Government and people of Iraq in their fight against terrorism. They stressed that all actions should be within the Constitutional framework and comply with the international humanitarian law and human rights standards.
They strongly condemned all terrorist and extremist activities regardless of their motivation.
They also stressed the importance of inclusive national dialogue and particular opportunity for that will be provided because of the formation of a new Parliament and a new Government in Iraq.
They urged the Iraqi Government and the international community to support UNAMI, especially in its activities in response to the humanitarian crisis.
Those are the comments I was authorized to make on behalf of members of the Security Council.
Q: Issues of some neighboring countries interfering in Iraq or going in support of the Government or otherwise…
V.Churkin: No, that issue was not raised.
Q: Was there any discussion on military equipment taken by ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) from Mosul, and what’s the estimate of how it could be used in Syria or elsewhere?
V.Churkin: No.
Q: What would be your position if other countries got involved?
V.Churkin: I don’t answer theoretical questions.
Q: Ambassador, do you see that there is a link between the situation in Iraq and situation in Syria?
V.Churkin: No. One of the colleagues made a general comment about the regional repercussions of the situation in Iraq. I picked up this point and said that we need to have a fresh look at what is going on there, which in my view should also have an impact on our thinking about the settlement of the crisis in Syria. Also, there is another kind of regional dimension – the dimension of terrorism. Clearly, the war on terrorism is not over. Terrorists do not agree with that assumption (that the war on terrorism is over). They keep fighting and even intensifying their activity. One thing that the Russian delegation suggested to do in the SC is to have a briefing from the UN Secretariat to have a look at a broader terrorist activity problem in the Middle East. I hope next week we will be organizing that.
Q: Mr.Ambassador, is the SC contemplating any action, any possible measures, even against ISIL
V.Churkin: No suggestions to that effect have been made.
Q: Is this a result of sectarian fracture in the Iraqi Government versus the spillover from Syria? And second, does Mr.N.Mladenov see the violence spreading beyond Northern regions to possibly Bagdad or elsewhere?
V.Churkin: Yes, there is that concern which was reflected in Mr.Mladenov’s comments even though he was quite assured that Bagdad is well protected and the Government is in control. According to him there is no immediate danger of violence spreading to Bagdad. As to your point on Syria, that is not the situation. I think the situation is that terrorist activity in the Middle East is coming from different directions, maybe some of those terrorists who are fighting now in Iraq have come from Syria but mostly they are moving to the region from other directions, so it’s a kind of a mixed thing. As to the sectarian problem – yes, it was discussed at length and that’s why we emphasized in our remarks, which I delivered on behalf of the members of the SC, to have an all-inclusive dialogue. Clearly, things are not well in interaction between various political factions, various religious groups in Iraq and there must be strong and intensified effort to start this dialogue. I think it is an opportunity, which Mr.Mladenov also mentioned, they have a new Parliament. This Parliament has not been able to convene to consider the request for emergency situation, which the Prime Minister has made, but this is going to be a new Parliament – we hope it will be a fresh start. This is a great opportunity for a fresh start in having all-inclusive political dialogue and also in resolving the multitude of issues: social issues, the issues of oil (who is controlling oil, oil revenues) and etc. A lot is to be done but the more immediate thing is to reach some kind of an accommodation between the main political forces to make it easier for them all to fight the terrorists.
Q: Do you think that the Government should take an initiative to start this new approach?
V.Churkin: I think it’s always important for the Government. Since you are the Government you need to take the initiative. If the Government takes this initiative, which I’m sure they are thinking about, it would be great.
Q: Press statement that was issued yesterday was emphasizing that the countries in the region and other countries of the world should implement the sanctions on this terrorist groups, also we heard today from a country a voice saying that what is happening in Iraq is an uprising by certain groups. Is that message sent by the SC to those countries who are sponsoring and supporting terrorists?
V.Churkin: We have sent that message in our statement yesterday, but, clearly, the danger of terrorism is there and there is a strong terrorist activity by ISIL group. Also there is another segment which is sometimes intertwined with this terrorist activity and that creates a much more complex situation which needs to be resolved through the means of an inclusive political dialogue. Constitution should be upheld and observed and various measures are being taken and there are other things which I have referred to in my statement.
Q: Iraq has presented a list of those countries and names of people who support ISIL…
V.Churkin: I am not aware of that.
Q: And the Kurds? Was there a discussion on the Kurds and Peshmerga?
V.Churkin: It’s a very volatile situation…
Q: What steps are you going to take for support of the Government?
V.Churkin: I made a statement. We support UNAMI, we think Mr.Mladenov is doing a great job. He has a clear understanding of the situation, very realistic, pragmatic. He is in contact with main players. The Secretary-General did talk to the Prime Minister of Iraq yesterday on the phone so there needs to be a strong effort from the United Nations. There is this effort, including humanitarian front, that’s why we urged the Iraqi Government and the international community to support them and that effort.
Q: You said earlier that mission has not been accomplished. What do you mean by that?
V.Churkin: I expressed our national assessment of what is going on because, and I did referred to that briefly in our discussion in the consultations, you cannot understand correctly what is going on now without knowing the background of things. What happened in 2003 was not just toppling a dictator but also trying to change the entire structure of a country which existed some experts say almost a millennium. And an effort to change that structure had not been successfully accomplished by the time the US troops left the country. The same I would suggest applies to the army and other power agencies. There were some strong words in the course of our discussion about the disintegration of the armed forces in the North of the country that reflects the fact that the reconstruction of the power agencies, of the armed forces of Iraq had not been completed. So, in our mind, this is definitely the background of the current crisis.
The Security Council has been repeatedly discussing the situation in Ukraine. Unfortunately the SC has never been able to produce a call to stop violence. And every time the SC fails to do that there is a dramatic increase in violence. On the 2nd of May we, at the SC, were not able to call to stop violence and on the same day the massacre in Odessa took place. On the 2nd of June we introduced a draft resolution calling to end violence in Ukraine and we had no support from some members of the SC and then a missile attack was carried out by a Ukrainian jet fighter against an administrative building in Luhansk where eight civilians were killed.
Now we see an escalation of violence. Statements were coming from president-elect Poroshenko, than president Poroshenko after his swearing in office on the 7th of June that he was ready to stop violence, there are numerous contacts including contacts between Russia and Ukraine, the meeting between President Putin and Mr.Poroshenko in Normandy. We are talking to Ukrainians through various formats. We are supporting the activity of the OSCE. Unfortunately we see some reluctance to implement the road map of the chairperson of the OSCE. And it’s important for the UN and for the SC to increase their role in trying to settle the situation in Ukraine and to stop violence.
We introduced a new draft resolution today. In some respect it goes along the lines of our previous draft resolution but of course it reflects more the situation as it exists now. It calls on all the parties to refrain from actions endangering the lives and security of the civilian population, civilian infrastructure and humanitarian goods. It calls on them to immediately end violence and agree to a sustainable cease-fire. In fact we also have a reference to a new disturbing phenomenon. There are news, reports about the use of white phosphorus munition in the course of fighting by the Ukrainian side. We believe that there should be an international attention to the use of prohibited munitions. We call for a full implementation of all provisions of the roadmap by OSCE chairperson and request the Secretary General of the UN to support the OSCE chairperson in his efforts to implement the roadmap in particular with regards to cessation of violence and to an all-inclusive Ukrainian dialogue involving all the political forces and regions of the country, among other things, with a view to reaching an agreement on the principles of the constitutional reform. This new draft is a short text but it covers a broad range of issues which we have now in Eastern Ukraine. Both ending violence and humanitarian aspect of it and also helping the political process and the efforts of the OSCE in this regard.
Q: Since we haven’t seen the resolution several west-European ambassadors indicated that they would not accept a resolution that did not reassert Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Is that mentioned in the draft?
V.Churkin: Various concepts and ideas have been expressed during the discussion. Five-six colleagues made initial comments, some supported the draft, some were making various suggestions. We agreed that we’ll have an expert meeting tomorrow.
Q: Since there is a new draft resolution what happened to the previous one?
V.Churkin: The previous one is still on the table but some new nuances emerged on practical and political fronts so the new draft overtakes the previous one.
Q: Since the OSCE reached an operating agreement with the High commissioner on human rights Navi Pillay and OSCE said that they believe that the Ukrainian jets bombed a building in Luhansk do you think that the UN should work together on this?
V.Churkin: We do. We continue to insist that there should be a clear message from the UN. We hope the Assistant of the SG for human rights Mr.Simonovich’s report which is going to be delivered on June, 17, will have a clear picture of what happened, not just elusive statements that they are gathering information, because there is plenty of information in this regard. We keep track of developments in this regard very closely.
