July 25, 2024
Thank you, Deputy High Representative Ebo, for your briefing.
Colleagues, before beginning my statement, I would just like to say that the lies, fabrications, threats, distortions, and historical revisionism on the part of the representative of the Russian Federation show no bounds. It’s quite unfortunate that everyone had to sit here and listen to that.
Two weeks ago, Russia lectured the Security Council on multilateral cooperation even as it blatantly violated the UN Charter by continuing to wage its brutal war against Ukraine.
Today, Russia’s hypocrisy is once again on full display, misusing the Security Council as a platform to broadcast its disinformation.
Despite repeated calls from more than 140 countries for Russia to end its war of aggression, a few countries have deepened their support to Russia. Today I’d like to focus on China, the DPRK, and Iran’s military support to Russia that is directly contributing to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
China’s so-called “no limits” partnership and large-scale support is propping up the Russian defense industrial base. Despite its calls on countries not to prolong the conflict, China is exporting to Russia nitrocellulose – which for those who don’t know, is a highly flammable compound – machine tools, microelectronics, optics, and UAV and cruise missile technology that are prolonging and enabling Russia’s violation of the UN Charter through its invasion of Ukraine. Russia deploys its acquisitions from China in attacks that kill civilians and destroy Ukraine’s infrastructure.
We need only look to Russia’s appalling attack on Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital to see the consequences of supporting Russia’s defense industrial base.
Collectively, exports from China have given the Russian war effort a lifeline and are increasing the threat Russia poses to Euro-Atlantic security.
The DPRK has unlawfully transferred dozens of ballistic missiles and over 15,000 containers of munitions to aid Russia’s war against Ukraine, prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people.
Last month, an expert from a leading independent think tank, Conflict Armament Research, described to the Security Council his trip to Ukraine to inspect debris from a ballistic missile that hit Kharkiv on January 2.
He shared photographs of the missile debris and described its distinct jet vane actuators; the bolt pattern around the igniter; and the presence of Korean characters on specific rocket components.
This independent determination that the ballistic missile had been manufactured in the DPRK corroborates the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency analysis published on May 29.
Russia’s procurement of DPRK ballistic missiles violates the UN arms embargo on the DPRK that Russia itself supported.
Troublingly, Moscow and Pyongyang have also signed a mutual defense treaty and elevated ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership after Putin’s visit in late June.
Russia-DPRK alignment evidences a dangerous quid-pro-quo: Russia shields the DPRK from UN scrutiny, allowing the Kim regime to continue developing unlawful ballistic missiles, so long as the DPRK supplies those arms for the Kremlin’s war effort.
That kind of quid-pro-quo undermines this institution; we must hold one another to account and uphold our obligations under international law.
Credible reporting suggests that Moscow plans to follow the same playbook with Tehran, elevating bilateral ties with a comprehensive bilateral agreement.
Iran is another country that continues to fuel Russia’s war of aggression with direct military support, providing Iranian UAVs, which the Kremlin is using to devastating effect against Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure.
I would also like to highlight the serious consequences of Iran potentially transferring ballistic missiles and related technology to Russia.
To that end, we urge all countries to cease military cooperation with Russia, and to halt materiel and political support for its war of aggression against Ukraine.
Such support to a country that violated the UN Charter only pours fuel on the fire. The NATO Washington Summit Declaration demonstrated that many countries share these concerns.
Here in New York at the General Assembly on July 11, 100 countries also demanded that Russia return control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to the sovereign and competent authorities of Ukraine.
Again, the hypocrisy of Russia calling for this meeting should not be lost on Security Council members.
We cannot allow Russia to unabashedly promote its disinformation while it wages a war of aggression for territorial conquest against a fellow UN Member State.
The United States remains committed to providing Ukraine what it needs to defend itself in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.
We call on all countries to support Ukraine’s pursuit of a just and lasting peace, consistent with the principles and purposes of the UN Charter.
We regret that Russia has shown no support or readiness for good-faith negotiations or engagement on such a peace, including the Kremlin’s refusal to participate in Ukraine’s second Peace Summit.
The United States will continue to stand by Ukraine. We will continue to call for justice for the victims of the Kremlin’s war of aggression, and accountability for those responsible.
Colleagues, in closing, let me make one final point. It is obvious to everyone that there is a clear difference with supporting the efforts of a country to defend itself in line with the UN Charter, and of supporting an international terrorist group sanctioned at the UN. The fact that Russia and its chosen briefers cannot tell the difference, frankly, tells you everything you need to know.
Thank you.