UNITED NATIONS — Whether it was Gaza, Ukraine, Syria or a new world order, it was Russia versus the United States and the West during Moscow’s presidency of the Security Council this month, with growing divisions on clear display.
The tension was not new.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine In February 2022, the West cracked down on Moscow, in violation of the UN Charter, which emphasizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all 193 members of the world body.
But this month, with Russia now in charge of the Security Council’s agenda, the hostility was more visible and the formalities were also very cool.
US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood has refused to call the Russian foreign minister or any other Russian diplomat “Mr. President,” a customary practice for any man chairing the council — a further sign of the icy state of US-Russian relations.
In return, Russian diplomats have added an extra edge to the usual response to speakers with whom Russia has tensions, particularly Americans.
“As chairman of the Security Council, I feel compelled to thank the United States for its statement,” a visibly angry Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s deputy ambassador, said in response to critical remarks by Wood about Russia during a meeting Monday on Syria.
The bickering reinforces the feeling that the Security Council has often talked past each other in recent years, but can still be diplomatic and adopt resolutions on global hotbeds.
“It was a month of small diplomatic point-scoring rather than really big collapses,” said Richard Gowan, director of the International Crisis Group think tank at the UN.
Verbal clashes between Russian and Western diplomats were a regular feature of almost every council meeting.
When Russia used its signature meeting, chaired by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, to advocate for a more democratic world order with many centers of power, angry Western ambassadors opposed it, saying that Moscow had no authority to raise the issue because it had invaded Ukraine and violated international law.
Lavrov began the meeting by criticizing the United States for proclaiming “its own exceptionalism.” He then quoted George Orwell’s famous novel “Animal Farm,” saying, “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” Lavrov then condemned NATO’s expansion into Europe.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield responded by accusing Russia of “willful and flagrant violation of the core principles of the United Nations Charter: territorial integrity, respect for human rights, and international cooperation.”
British Ambassador Barbara Woodward was similarly stern: “While you are telling us how you think the world order can become more just, democratic and sustainable, your army is systematically bombing civilians in Ukraine in an unprovoked war of aggression, and in flagrant violation of the UN Charter.”
France’s top diplomat at the UN, Nicolas de Riviere, compared Russia to “an arsonist firefighter.”
“It calls for a more just world order, but multiplies violations of the Charter and endangers our collective security,” De Riviere said.
When Russia held a meeting on Thursday to condemn Western arms shipments to Ukraine, Western diplomats accused Russia of obtaining weapons from North Korea and Iran in violation of UN sanctions. They also accused China of supplying equipment to support Russia’s defense industry. Beijing’s envoy denied this.
During the council meeting on Syria, Russia accused the United States and its allies of trying to destabilize the country with their “illegal presence.” Wood accused Russia and its close ally Syria of obstructing efforts to end the country’s 13-year civil war.
Earlier this month, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia invited his 14 Security Council colleagues to a retreat at his country’s Long Island estate. One topic was the qualifications of the people Moscow had invited to brief members at the many meetings it had held on Ukraine, according to a council diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private.
Russia’s briefers on Ukraine include peace activists, political commentators and freelance journalists. At a recent Russian-hosted press conference, one of the speakers was the international secretary of the Communist Party, who had visited Russian-occupied areas in eastern Ukraine.
During the meeting in Ukraine on Thursday, the council was briefed by Russia by former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissel. Western diplomats saw this as a marked improvement, although they strongly disagreed with her view that the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine would stimulate an uncontrolled arms market in Eastern and Central Europe, increasing crime and terrorism.
In perhaps the most difficult moment for Russia, Nebenzia on July 9 led an emergency meeting of the council convened by France and Ecuador after a missile attack on part of The largest children’s hospital in UkraineThe US and many others blamed Russia, but Russia denied any responsibility.
Nebenzia told the Associated Press news agency on Thursday that he thinks the Russian presidency has been “smooth” and “has been in the news.”
Wood, the US envoy, disagreed.
“Russia wants to use its presidency of the Security Council to give the impression that everything is business as usual. It is not,” he told the AP on Friday. “As long as Russia continues its war of aggression against Ukraine, in clear violation of the UN Charter, any attempt to portray itself as a responsible permanent member of the council will be viewed with the utmost skepticism.”
Gowan of the Crisis Group said the Russians “are specialists in both making inflammatory speeches and performing diplomatic stunts in the Security Council, and they have performed both this month.”
He pointed to Lavrov’s oft-repeated condemnations of US global dominance and Russia’s “stunt” of inviting Austrian leader Kneissel to a briefing, which “caused some mischief.”
Gowan said Russia is keen to show that it will not let its “struggle” with the US and its European allies disrupt the council’s work.
“That usually frustrates Western diplomats – they feel that Russia is not getting any real punishment for its behavior in Ukraine,” he said.
When asked about clashes with the US and its allies, Nebenzia replied: “That happens, with or without a presidency.”
