UNITED NATIONS (HPD) — Ukraine has accused Iran of violating a U.N. Security Council ban on the transfer of drones capable of flying 300 kilometers, and has invited U.N. experts to visit the country to inspect U.N. drones. Iranian origin that Russia uses against civilian targets. Russia and Iran on Wednesday rejected that the drones are Iranian.
The Associated Press obtained a letter from Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, addressed to Secretary-General António Guterres and members of the Security Council ahead of a council meeting, requested by Britain, France and the United States, about the sale of hundreds of drones to Russia.
The three Western countries strongly support Ukraine’s claim that the drones were transferred to Russia and that they violate a 2015 UN Security Council resolution that upheld the nuclear deal between Iran and six key nations — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany—aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear activities and preventing the country from developing a nuclear weapon.
Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, told reporters after the council meeting that the UAVs used by the Russian military in Ukraine “are made in Russia, so all these accusations are baseless.”
He accused Western countries of their “shameful usual practice” of trying to put pressure on Iran by launching such accusations about its violation of resolution 2231.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, “categorically rejected baseless and unjustified claims that Iran has transferred unmanned aerial vehicles for use in the Ukraine conflict,” and accused unnamed countries of trying to launch a campaign. of disinformation to “erroneously establish a link” with the UN resolution. “Furthermore, Iran firmly believes that none of its arms exports, including unmanned aerial vehicles,” violate resolution 2231.
France’s ambassador to the UN, Nicolas De Riviere, reiterated after the council meeting that the drones were delivered by Iran to Russia and are being used in Ukraine in violation of the resolution. He told reporters that, during the council’s closed-door discussion, Russia denied this, citing a statement by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who noted on Tuesday that “Russian equipment with Russian nomenclature” is used in Ukraine.
“And I said that there is no one in the world who already believes Mr. Peskov’s statements,” said the French ambassador.
De Riviere said that Peskov “has been lying from the beginning,” when he claimed on February 23, the day before the Russian invasion, that Russia would never invade Ukraine.
“And now he will tell us that Russia never bought Iranian drones. So I think his credibility is nil”, commented the French envoy. “So we are very concerned about that,” stressing that Iranian drones violate resolution 2231, and that their use by Russia to kill civilians and attack civilian infrastructure “is another violation of international law.”
Russia is believed to have sent Iranian-made Shahed drones to Ukraine to attack power plants, residential buildings and other infrastructure in kyiv and other cities.
In 2018, former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA nuclear deal, and negotiations between the Biden administration and Iran for the US to rejoin the deal have stalled.
Under the resolution, a conventional arms embargo on Iran was in place until October 2020, but restrictions on missiles and related technologies last until October 2023, and Western diplomats say that includes the export and purchase of military systems. advanced like drones.
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Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.