Russia to seek adoption of UN Security Council resolution on terrorism

Russia intends to work towards the early adoption of a UN Security Council draft resolution on its fight against terrorism, despite the adoption of the French document, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the world body, Vitaly Churkin, said yesterday at a meeting of the UN Security Council.

He called the attempts by "some members of the Council" to block work on the document "politically short-sighted". "You cannot fight the terrorists with one hand, and with the other, in fact, play along with them, guided by opportunistic considerations. We intend to continue the active work on the harmonization of our project, with a view to its early adoption," TASS quotes the diplomat as saying.

Russia presented the text of the resolution on the coordination of actions in the fight against terrorist organizations in late September. The document was not accepted by a number of the Western countries, as it calls to coordinate the anti-terrorism efforts of the authorities of the countries where the military operations are performed. On November 18th Russia submitted a revised draft resolution which, according to Vitaly Churkin, "articulated the concept of self-defense and Article 51 of the UN Charter."

Speaking at the meeting, Vitaly Churkin stressed that the organizers and perpetrators of the terrorist attacks in Paris, as well as those responsible for the destruction of the Russian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula will receive their inevitable punishment.

"We mourn for those killed in the Sinai Peninsula and in Paris. Recently the victims of terrorist attacks became Turkey, Tunisia, Lebanon, and today even Mali. The Boko Haram organization continues to rage, the permanent representative of the Russian Federation noted.

Russia strongly condemns the heinous terrorist act and expresses its deep condolences to the bereaved families and relatives. "The organizers and perpetrators of these bloody crimes will suffer inevitable punishment. They should be sought wherever they are hiding. We are ready for broad cooperation with other states to achieve results,’’ the diplomat said.

The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation expressed confidence that the international community needs to "maximally mobilize and demonstrate renewed political will, unity and solidarity in the fight against the common threat of terrorism, backed by its concrete steps and actions," and recalled that in his speech at the general debate of the General Assembly in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a "truly broad international anti-terrorist coalition" and guided "not by ambition, but by shared values ​​and common interests."