The U.S. And its Western allies on the Security Council insisted Wednesday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has the right to investigate if Russia has used Iranian drones to attack civilians and power plants in Ukraine.
They dismissed Moscow's argument that the U.N. Chief would be violating the U.N. Charter. Russia's U.N. Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, who called the council meeting, argued that only the Security Council can mandate an investigation. He cited Article 100 of the charter, which says the secretary-general “shall not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any other authority external to the organisation.”
U.S. Deputy ambassador Robert Wood called Russia's contention “simply dumbfounding” and an attempt “to deflect attention from its own egregious wrongdoing in Ukraine.” French Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere accused Russia of constantly violating the U.N. Charter “and trampling on its principles by invading its neighbour and claiming to annex its territories.”
Britain's deputy ambassador, James Kariuki, called it “another attempt by Russia to distract from its crimes in Ukraine, and Iran and Russia's failure to abide by their international obligations.”
The Western envoys said the Security Council's time is being wasted by Russia, which is engaged in a blitz of activity at the council. Russia called closed-door consultations Tuesday about its unfounded allegations that Ukraine is preparing a dirty bomb.
It called Wednesday's meeting to try to prevent the investigation of its purported use of Iranian drones. And it called a meeting Thursday on its claims that secret American labs in Ukraine were engaged in biological warfare — a charge denied by the U.S. And Ukraine.