Nebenzya calls resolution calling UN General Assembly session on Ukraine attempt to bypass Russia's position

NEW YORK, UN. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya has described the UN Security Council's resolution on convening an emergency session of the UN General Assembly over the situation around Ukraine as an attempt to bypass Russia, a move which contravenes the UN Charter.

"The Russian Federation voted against the proposed draft because its authors offer to sign off on the [UN] Security Council's inability to fulfill its main responsibility to maintain international peace and security," Nebenzya said at the UN Security Council.

Russia "did not see even a hint at an attempt to find a constructive solution within the Council," and two days ago, it already blocked a draft resolution "for the same reason, because it was one-sided and non-balanced," he said.

"We have not seen any new initiatives. The UN and its Security Council were established in the post-war period with the aim of averting the horrors of war. To this end, peaceful powers pledged to reach agreements among themselves, ideally find a consensus, in any case not to try to impose their decision on each other, and not to ignore any member of the P5," he said.

"Therefore, the permanent members of the Council have the right to block decisions. It is not a privilege but an instrument of ensuring this much-needed balance of interests and through it global stability. An attempt to circumvent Russia's position and ignore it contravenes the very foundations of the UN Charter," Nebenzya said.