Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Moscow, SANA- The United Nations Security Council (UNHRC) lost credibility long before the current situation around Ukraine began, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
“We withdrew from the Human Rights Council on our own. They wanted to expel us from it, to suspend our membership. We decided to do it ourselves. The Council discredited itself long before the current situation around Ukraine began,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.
Lavrov noted that members of the UN Human Rights Council (47 countries) are elected by the UN General Assembly for a term of three years, adding that Russia was a UNHRC member in 2006-2012 and in 2014-2016 and was elected for its third term, which began on January 1, 2021.
He also stressed that it is vitally important for Russia to be independent in critically important spheres. “We are not merely working on import substitution. We must cease to depend in any way on supplies of anything from the West in order to ensure the development of sectors of critical importance for our country’s security, economy and social sphere,” he said.
The economic interaction between Russia and China will gain momentum in the near future because the West “holds the dictator’s position,” Lavrov said.
“Currently, when the West holds the dictator’s position, our economic ties will China will grow faster. Further to the direct revenue for the government budget, it provides us with an opportunity to implement projects of ramping up the Far East and Eastern Siberia,” the Minister said.
Rafah al-Allouni/ Ruaa al-Jazaeri
