Evolving Global Order Makes a P5 Summit Ineffective

File Photo of UN Building with Flags

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Paul Saunders – Sept. 17, 2020) Paul Saunders is a senior fellow in U.S. foreign policy at the Center for the National Interest. With military tension among great powers increasing in east Asia, central Europe and the Middle East, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and others have proposed a summit of the U.N. Security Council’s five […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia able to ensure its security if New START Treaty isn’t extended – Lavrov” – Interfax

Sergei Lavrov file photo

MOSCOW. July 10 (Interfax – Primakov Readings) – Russia will promote the idea of the inadmissibility of a nuclear war at the P5 summit of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. “We’re particularly concerned by the fact that the Americans have been refusing for the past two years to […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin Proposes 2020 Summit With Leaders of Russia, France, China, U.S. and UK” – Reuters

UN Building file photo

“… Putin … proposed holding a summit between the leaders of Russia, China, the United States, France and Britain in 2020 to discuss the conflict in Libya and other global problems. Putin, … speaking during a trip to Israel, said Moscow was ready for a “serious conversation” with the permanent members of the UN Security Council, that there was much […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘These Are Our Friends’; Russians Push to Preserve North Korea Ties; Some Russian business owners and ethnic Koreans are braving U.S. ire to maintain business ties with Pyongyang” – Wall Street Journal/ Anatoly Kurmanaev, Thomas Grove, Ksenia Barakovskaya, Lyubov Barabashova, Ian Talley

North Korea Map and Flag, adapted from .gov image

“… some 13,000 North Korean workers [were] left in Russia by October …. Some Western diplomats view Moscow’s implementation of … sanctions as overly liberal. … allowing [Pyongyang] to continue earning foreign currency and sourcing vital supplies in Russia and undermining U.S. attempts to strong-arm the country into giving up [WMD]. … Russian customs data show North Korea imported about […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia has trained over 1,000 troops in CAR, more instructors to go there – Foreign Ministry” – Interfax

Africa Map

MOSCOW. Oct 22 (Interfax) – Moscow is planning to send an additional 60 Russian military instructors to the Central African Republic (CAR), and more than 1,000 CAR troops have already completed training, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website. “Over 1,000 Central African servicemen have been trained to date. We intend to continue to provide Bangui […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S., Russia Clash at U.N. as Lavrov Calls for Easing of North Korea Sanctions” – Wall Street Journal/ Jessica Donati (Sept. 28, 2018)

File Photo of UN Building with Flags

“The Trump administration worked to move ahead on its top diplomatic priority – the denuclearization of North Korea – but ran head-on into opposition to its plans from Russia, which called for the easing of United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang. The proposal by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the U.N. Security Council ran directly counter to the U.S. demand […]

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Interfax: Russian Foreign Ministry: UNSC’s inability to condemn attack of terrorists on Russian embassy to Syria encourages them to new attacks

UN Building file photo

MOSCOW. Aug 4 (Interfax) – The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) of blocking Russia’s suggestion to condemn shelling of the Russian embassy in Damascus, saying that it encourages terrorists to new attacks. “The most outrageous thing is that the Security Council’s inability to condemn terrorists’ actions encourages them to new provocations and […]

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Interfax: Reports on U.S. intention to monitor Russian ports in Primorye wrong – source in U.S. Congress

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

WASHINGTON. May 6 (Interfax) – Reports on the United States’ intention to monitor Russian ports in Primorye for their compliance with the sanctions imposed on North Korea are wrong, a source in the U.S. Congress said. “The report you passed along is wrong,” the source in the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives told Interfax, replying to […]

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UN Braces as Trump’s Detente With Russia Upsets Balance of Power

UN Building file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Kambiz Foroohar – January 31, 2017) President Donald #Trump’s outreach to #Russia is reverberating through the United Nations, where U.S. allies worry that a partnership between Washington and Moscow could undermine a historic balance of power dating to the early days of the Cold War. For decades, the five veto-wielding members of the 15-nation Security Council […]

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UN Syrian peace plan deal: What was agreed upon in New York?

UN Building file photo

On Dec. 18 in New York, members of the International Syria Support Group agreed on the principles of reaching a political settlement to the crisis in Syria. Later, after five hours of discussions, the group’s decisions on Syria were unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council. But what questions are still hindering progress? (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – […]

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Idiots ‘Useful’ and Otherwise on the Rise in Russia and the West

Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

(Paul Goble – Staunton, July 31, 2015) Idiotism is on the rise in both Russia and the West, with its spread in Russia having transformed that country from “a land of liars to one of idiots,” according to Vitaly Portnikov, and in the West having become the latest iteration of the “useful idiots” Lenin and the Bolsheviks always viewed as […]

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US expands sanctions day after Russia vetoes MH17 UN tribunal

Portion of U.S. Treasury Department Building Facade, North Side, with Sculpture of Alexander Hamilton

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – July 31, 2015) [DJ: US Department of Treasury press release here http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0133.aspx] The US Department of Treasury announced on July 30 it would expand the sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian companies, officials and individuals, which “underscores US commitment to maintain the strength of existing sanctions and the unity of the international […]

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Interfax: Russia will respond to sanctions imposed against it using principle of mutuality, but asymmetrical actions are also possible

Dmitry Peskov file photo adapted from image at kremlin.ru/wikimedia commons

(Interfax – July 31, 2015) Russia will proceed from the principles of mutuality regarding the countries imposing sanctions against it, but it does not rule out an asymmetrical response as well, Russian presidential press officer Dmitry Peskov said on July 31. “In general, the principle of mutuality, no doubt, is a basic principle in this sanctions exchange. At the same […]

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RBTH: Flight MH17: Russia blocks UN resolution on international tribunal

Ukraine Air Crash Scene with Uniformed Security Personnel, Flames, Smoke

Russia has vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution on the establishment of an international criminal tribunal in connection with the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in July 2014. While countries in favor of the resolution accuse Russia of insulting the families of the 298 victims of the disaster, Russia says the tribunal would have been premature, and questioned […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Remarks at the October Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine

Samantha Power file photo adapted from image at state.gov

(Ukraine United States Mission to the United Nations – Remarks at the October Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine – Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Kyiv,  – June 11, 2015) AS DELIVERED Dobry den. Thank you all so much for being here. As Tamila said, I represent the United States at the United Nations. The United Nations Security Council, the body whose job […]

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Interfax: UNSC unanimously backs Russian resolution supporting Minsk deal

UN Building file photo

(Interfax – February 18, 2015) The United Nations Security Council unanimously backed a resolution supporting the Minsk deal for Ukraine on Tuesday. The resolution was proposed by Russia. It said, for instance, that every warring side in Ukraine should fully implement the Minsk agreements. The UN Security Council members expressed concern about the hostilities in eastern Ukraine and declared the […]

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Interfax: Russia optimistic about comprehensive agreement on Iranian nuclear program – diplomat

Map of Iran with Stylized Radar Sweep and Radiation Symbol Background Image

(Interfax – June 12, 2014) Moscow welcomes progress in clearing a comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear program before negotiations between the P5+1 group of world powers and Iran in Vienna, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said following a meeting with an Iranian delegation in Rome. “I can say in summing up the results that the work on a […]

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UN May Permit Force in Syria Only If Obligations Unfulfilled – Moscow

Syria Map

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 24, 2013) ­ The United Nations Security Council may permit armed intervention in Syria only if that government refuses to fulfill obligations, such as removing chemical weapons stockpiles, a senior Russian government official said Tuesday. Washington and Moscow are expected to clash at the UN General Assembly later this week over the terms of a […]

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Interfax: Moscow to send to UNSC proof that insurgents used chemical weapons in Ghouta – Lavrov

File Photo of Bashar al-Assad and Sergei Lavrov

(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 18, 2013) Russia intends to provide the proof, provided by Damascus, that the opposition used chemical weapons in eastern Ghouta near Damascus, to the UN Security Council. “Of course, we will provide all of this to the UN Security Council,” Russian Foreign Minister told reporters following his speech at the Valdai Discussion Club. This proof has […]

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Why Russia still needs the UN

UN Building file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Vyacheslav Morozov, special to RBTH – September 18, 2013) Although Russia is involved in many other multilateral groups, the UN gives the country status and influence. Russia’s attitude towards the United Nations is defined by two key concerns: status and influence. Being a permanent member of the UN Security Council is crucial for […]

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Obama Falls Right Into Putin’s Trap

File Photo of Vladimir Putin Leaning Towards Barack Hussein Obama With Flags Behind Them

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Michael Bohm, Opinion Page Editor – September 13, 2013) President Vladimir Putin loves to set traps for U.S. President Barack Obama. The only thing Putin loves even more is when Obama falls smack into one. Trap No. 1. Putin set his latest trap Monday with a seemingly attractive proposal to have international monitors identify and […]

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Russia passes proof of chemical weapons use by Syrian militants to UN Security Council – Duma deputy

UN Building file photo

(Interfax – September 11, 2013) Syrian insurgents possess chemical weapons, and Russia has given proof that they have used these weapons on Syrian territory to the UN Security Council, Russian State Duma international affairs committee head Alexei Pushkov said at a Duma plenary session on Wednesday. The Duma plans to issue a statement on the situation in Syria later in […]

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