Russia disagrees with some provisions of the UN Security Council resolution on the extension of the sanctions regime on Somalia, but welcomes that the document contains a step to ease the arms embargo. Anna Evstigneeva, Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the world organization, said this on Thursday following a vote at the Security Council. Eleven delegations voted for the resolution; four countries, including Russia and China, abstained.
"The Russian Federation abstained on the draft Security Council resolution prepared by the United Kingdom on the extension of the sanctions regime against Somalia due to its disagreement with a number of its provisions," Evstigneeva said. - "However, we would like to emphasize that we welcome the next step made in this document to ease the arms embargo. We believe it is necessary to show sub-sanctioned countries that the Security Council is receptive to their respective requests, driven by the urgent need to consolidate state power and the national security sector."
"The task of combating terrorism remains critical for Somalia and the entire region, and its realization is impossible without defeating the destructive capacity of [the terrorist group] Al-Shabaab. The contributions of extra-regional players are certainly valuable," the diplomat pointed out. - "But in the long run, Somalis, as hard as it may be, must themselves - of course, not without support - learn to counter this threat, which cannot be done without overcoming the long-standing internal conflicts and restoring the unity of the country."
The deputy representative of the Russian Federation stressed the inadmissibility of "outside forces using their militarized presence in this country for selfish purposes, taking advantage of its unique geographical location and increased militarization of the Horn of Africa against the background of ongoing disunity of the Somalis." The Russian side sees the new broad exemptions to the arms embargo not as a privilege, but as a special means to help eliminate threats common to all. "We proceed from the need to ensure equal and fair conditions for all on this issue and maintain maximum transparency, including with regard to supplies to ensure the security of foreign paramilitary presences in Somalia," the Russian representative said.
"We count on Africans to stand firm against recurrences of colonial thinking," Evstigneeva said. - "It is this unfortunate phenomenon, and not at all a concern for peace, that can explain why some members of the Security Council were unwilling to remove issues related to bilateral relations between Djibouti and Eritrea from the Somali agenda. We would like to think that those countries, which have been through many moments of crisis, will continue to move wisely and patiently towards dialogue and rapprochement. This is the only right choice and Russia respects it."
Dual approach
According to the diplomat, Russia remains wary of the dualistic approach to Al-Shabab, which blurs the global counterterrorism focus.
"The true nature of this entity affiliated with [the terrorist groups] ISIS (Islamic State, banned in the Russian Federation) and al-Qaida (banned in the Russian Federation) is not in doubt, its danger is not disputed by anyone," said the Russian diplomat. - "However, for some reason, it continues to be 'kept at a distance' from the specialized committee [of the Security Council] 1267/1989/2253. This resolution takes another step in that, in our opinion, wrong direction."
The document, Evstigneeva pointed out, further solidifies that Al-Shabab is being dealt with by the essentially political 751 committee that supervises sanctions on Somalia. "It does not take into account the full range of regional states' views on the matter," she said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
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Based on materials from TASS