Russia and China against the West: Veto on key document on Iran

The text of the resolution vetoed yesterday by China and Russia states that “countries interested in the commercial use of maritime routes in the Strait of Hormuz are called upon to coordinate defensive efforts, proportionate to the circumstances, in order to contribute to ensuring the safety and security of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”

In addition, the resolution called on Iran to immediately cease attacks on commercial and merchant vessels and to stop interfering with their freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as attacks on civilian infrastructure.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz said after the resolution failed to pass that the Strait of Hormuz is “too important to be used for blackmail.”

“The Strait of Hormuz is too important for the world to be used for blackmail, to be blocked or closed by the weapons of any country. We have long known that these countries (China and Russia) are capable of obstruction,” Waltz said at the UN.

Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, stated that adopting the resolution would effectively give a “blank check” to the United States and Israel to continue what he described as aggressive actions, AP reports.

Nebenzya added that Moscow supports freedom of navigation worldwide, but that adopting a “one-sided resolution” would undermine prospects for continued negotiations and disrupt “important peace initiatives currently being carried out by several countries.”

Nebenzya and China’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Fu Cong, assessed that the draft resolution does not reflect the causes of the conflict and ignores the fact that, according to their claims, the United States and its allies initiated the war.

Nebenzya emphasized that Russia could not support a text that would create a dangerous precedent for international and maritime law, as well as for the authority of the UN Security Council.

He added that Moscow and Beijing are proposing an alternative draft resolution on the situation in the Middle East and reiterated that Russia condemns what he described as the aggression of the United States and Israel against Iran, while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states in the region.

The Russian diplomat also stated that Moscow will not apologize for the veto, addressing U.S. Ambassador Michael Waltz and claiming that Washington had already “betrayed diplomacy” through its military actions against Iran.

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