France's Disruption of UNSC Meeting on Yugoslavia Outrageous — Russia

Maria Zakharova emphasized that the Russian side intends to press for a meeting of the UN Security Council on NATO’s aggression against Yugoslavia, as "this is not just an event in history, but a turning point in the emergence of the current situation in the Balkans"

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Vladimir Smirnov/TASS

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. Russia expresses indignation over the unprofessional behavior of the French delegation that has disrupted the UN Security Council meeting on NATO's aggression against Yugoslavia, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said in a commentary.

"We are outraged by the incorrect and unprofessional behavior of France, which is one of the ‘five’ permanent members of the Security Council with a special historical obligation to comply with the Council's provisional rules of procedure and other norms, developed over many years on the basis of mutual respect and consideration of interests," she said.

Zakharova explained that on March 25, the French delegation to the UN in New York, acting with the support of other Westerners, disrupted a meeting of the Security Council approved in the officially adopted program of UN Security Council activities for this month, timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of NATO's aggression against Yugoslavia.

"For our part, we made concessions and agreed to invite as a rapporteur a representative of the NATO secretariat, an organization directly responsible for the destruction of Yugoslavia and the creation of a hotbed of instability in the Balkans," she continued. "We regret that the Japanese presidency of the UN Security Council succumbed to the French and held a procedural vote on an agenda item in favor of which Russia, China and Algeria voted, while the other members of the Council abstained for various reasons, including pressure from Western delegations."

The diplomat drew attention to the fact that in this way "outrageous disrespect was shown to Acting Prime Minister and Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, who arrived in New York to participate in the said meeting."

"We believe that the essence of such inappropriate behavior by the French delegation is clearly reflected in the saying ‘uneasy conscience betrays itself’," she added.

Zakharova emphasized that the Russian side intends to press for a meeting of the UN Security Council on NATO’s aggression against Yugoslavia, as "this is not just an event in history, but a turning point in the emergence of the current situation in the Balkans."