British UN SC draft resolution on Srebrenica tragedy unacceptable - Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. July 8 (Interfax) - British draft of the UN Security Council resolution on the tragic events in Srebrenica in July 1995, which was vetoed by Russia, was unacceptable, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement of Wednesday.
"It is evident that the document presented was unacceptable due to its political bias and lack of balance and was harmful for the process of national reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Balkan region in general. The blame for the events was essentially laid solely on Serbia without taking into account the fact that Serbs were also victims of this tragedy," the document said.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, "separating just one of many war crimes of that time and forgetting others is absolutely unlawful and would only lead to deepening the gap in Bosnian society."
"We regret that the British insisted on the vote despite our numerous warnings and concerns over consequences of passing the draft, which were addressed to the UN Security Council of the Balkan region and which is of conflict potential," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
It has been reported that on July 8 the UN Security Council considered the British draft resolution dedicated to the tragic events in Srebrenica 20 years ago. Russia voted against the document, Angola, Venezuela, China and Nigeria abstained. As a result, the draft resolution has not been passed.
When voting against the draft resolution, Moscow "also took into account lack of consensus in Bosnia and Herzegovina itself: neither the country's parliament nor its presidium members could come up with joint opinion of the draft resolution," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"This enhanced further the certainty that passing it will only open old wounds condemning Balkan communities to conserve interethnic tension and delaying prospects of stable peace settling," the statement said.
"During the Balkan crisis the region has become witness to numerous horrendous crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, which took lives of people of different ethnicities and confessions. We consistently support investigation of all unlawful actions committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina towards all ethnic groups, including Bosniacs, Serbs and Croatians so that all guilty parties get the punishment deserved," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
During the Security Council meeting a Russian representative "proposed to observe a minute of silence at this sorrowful moment to pay respects to victims of the tragic events in Bosnia and Herzegovina."
"As of today, the region is facing a task of principle importance - to achieve complete accord and calm in Bosnia and Herzegovina," the statement said.
"In the spirit of constructiveness Russia has submitted an alternative draft resolution to the UN Security Council. It is based on an absolutely different logic than the British document - [logic] aimed at future and pointing all interested parties towards advancing national reconciliation and overcoming as soon as possible heavy heritage of the Bosnian tragedy," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"In future Russia will make every effort to implement consistently the Dayton peaceful agreement, 20th anniversary of which will be marked later this year. It is of extreme importance that all parties follow strictly own obligations under the Dayton agreement, and special responsibility rests on authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are ready to assist efficiently further situation stabilization in the Balkans and building there true system of collective security, and to contribute to enhancing the climate of trust and cooperation," the document said.
Western mass media outlets reported earlier on Wednesday that Russia vetoed the UN Security Council on the 1995 events in Srebrenica. The document was proposed by the UK - it characterized the events in Srebrenica as genocide. Ten members of the UN Security Council voted for the draft resolution and four, including China, abstained. Belgrade and Bosnian Serbs were opposed to passing the document in the UN, Associated Press reported.
"The current draft resolution on Srebrenica is unacceptable," a Russian diplomatic source told reporters earlier this week.
According to the official information, in July 1995 over 8000 Muslims were killed in Srebrenica and responsibility was laid on troops of Bosnian Serbs.
The UN international court in The Hague qualified Srebrenica events as genocide.
