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A Russia deeply enmeshed in the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II sent its foreign minister to the Security Council of the United Nations there to extol the virtues of peace and diplomacy. But Western diplomats immediately accused Moscow of hypocrisy.
The spectacle comes as Russia approaches the end of its month-long Council presidency. Intending to use the platform to the maximum, the foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, presided over the all-day session which he described as focusing on the maintenance of the UN charter, international rules and multilateralism.
But the meeting also gave Russia an opportunity to blame its enemies and try to speed up the narrative of the invasion in Ukraine, which casts the West as the real aggressor.
“No one will allow a Western minority to speak for all humanity,” Mr Lavrov told the Council. “They should be polite and respectful to all members of the international community.”
For all the theater – the United States and members of the Council of Europe pointedly did not send their own foreign ministers – the session explained the dangers facing the world.
António Guterres, the secretary general of the United Nations, warned that the multilateral global system “is under greater tension than at any time since the creation of the United Nations” and warned that tensions between great powers increase the risk of conflict. And Mr. Lavrov himself told us that the world is on the “threshold of perhaps more danger” than during the Cold War.
Even as Russian forces maintained a brutal campaign to conquer Ukraine, Mr. Lavrov offered the Council a long and sweeping speech that touched on decades of Western aggression, from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the invasion of Iraq.
But Western diplomats say the aggressor is now clearly Russia.
“This illegal, unprovoked and unnecessary war goes directly against our most sacred principle: that wars of aggression and territorial conquest are unacceptable,” said US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Mrs. Thomas-Greenfield was brought to the United Nations by Elizabeth Whelan, an American whose brother, Paul Whelan, was imprisoned in Russia. And he demanded the release of another imprisoned American, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group, a foreign policy think tank based in Brussels, said: “You all got what you wanted now. Lavrov needs to show that Russia’s position in the Security Council is guaranteed. Western diplomats need to be polite to Lavrov .So it’s a win-win situation for both sides.
But the real audience Mr. Lavrov is trying to reach — and the opportunity the month-long Security Council presidency offers him — may lie elsewhere.
Western efforts to punish Russia for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine were only partially successful. Many countries in Asia and Africa, which are still paying the price of Western colonialism, do not condemn the war. And often caught between competing superpowers, they find great appeal in the subject of today’s Security Council session: multilateralism.
In addition to the 15 members of the Council, more than a dozen Asian and African countries also participated in the debate, calling for a more balanced and less polarized global order that better upholds the goals of the United Nations.
Ambassador of Nepal, Amrit Bahadur Rai, said that for small countries, the topic is very important. “We expect the members of the Council, especially the permanent members, to work hard to reach a consensus to solve the problems facing the world,” he said.
In welcoming Mr. Lavrov as the leader of the meeting, the Chinese ambassador appeared to be sending a message to the West.
“We oppose the distortion by some countries of the meaning of international law and the imposition of their own will on the international community,” said Ambassador Zhang Jun.
In a long speech before Mr Lavrov’s comments, Mr Guterres mentioned the war only once.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in violation of the UN Charter and international law, has caused great suffering and damage to the country and its people, and exacerbated the global economic dislocation triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said the secretary general. .
Mr. Guterres seems circumspection suggested that he does not want to risk alienating Mr. Lavrov ahead of the critical negotiations to extend the deal that allows badly needed Ukrainian grain trapped by the war to be sent again. The grain deal is due to expire on May 18, and the United Nations is concerned that its collapse will have dire consequences for global food security.
Mr Lavrov held a one-on-one meeting with Mr Guterres on Monday evening where the two discussed the war in Ukraine, the grain deal, and the situation in Afghanistan and Syria, according to a UN reading of the meeting.
The presidency of the Security Council rotates among its members. Russia is over by the end of the month.
The rise of the Kremlin cannot prevent him from assuming the presidency, or prevent Mr. Lavrov from holding the meeting on Monday. They can only try to counter Moscow’s narrative.
Before the meeting, the EU’s ambassador to the United Nations, Olof Skoog, delivered a statement on behalf of the bloc as all 27 ambassadors stood beside him. “By organizing this debate, Russia is trying to portray itself as a defender of the UN Charter and multilateralism,” he said. However, he said, “Everywhere you look, Russia is being humiliated.”
Mr. Lavrov on Tuesday will chair a Council meeting on the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
For all the furore about Russia taking over the presidency, the Security Council has been going about its business as usual for the past few weeks, with backdoor diplomacy and scheduled events going on as usual.
The council dealt with two crises this month: the sudden war in Sudan and the Taliban’s ban on women working, including for UN agencies.
“In both cases, Russia is not an outright spoiler,” said Mr. Gowan, an analyst at Krisis Group. “Perhaps the crisis helps keep Council members in line.”
In a rare show of unity, Security Council members issued an official statement condemning the fighting in Sudan and calling for an immediate ceasefire and a return to political dialogue.
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