Russia had blocked the UN Security Council press statement condemning the attack on the United States Embassy in Iraq because the document did not mention the killing of Iranian top commander Qasem Soleimani, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told reporters, Sputnik reports.
Earlier in the day, the US mission at the United Nations accused Russia and China of blocking a UN Security Council press element condemning the December 31 attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad.
"As a principle, we condemn strongly any attack on any embassy anywhere in the world, whatever country it is, and we strongly condemn the attack on the American Embassy in Baghdad," Nebenzia said. "And the press statement was nearly ready, it was agreed upon at least with us, with the United States, when the strike on the third of January came in the Baghdad airport.
Not to take that into account, in the whole context, was impossible."
Nebenzia said Russia proposed corresponding amendments in the UN Security Council's statement, which would "surely" not be accepted by the US mission.
"The statement did not go through not because we did not condemn the attack itself, [it is] because the context, in which it [the statement] was evolving, was different," Nebenzia added.
