Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzya, president of the Security Council for the month of April, speaks at a press conference. AFP
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzya, president of the Security Council for the month of April, speaks at a press conference. AFP
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzya, president of the Security Council for the month of April, speaks at a press conference. AFP
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzya, president of the Security Council for the month of April, speaks at a press conference. AFP

Moscow calls Putin's ICC warrant 'stupid' as Russia takes control of UN Security Council


Adla Massoud
  • English
  • Arabic

Russia's ambassador to the UN told reporters on Monday that the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin was “stupid” and an “illegitimate decision”.

Last month, The Hague-based ICC issued a warrant for Mr Putin over his alleged role in the abduction and deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.

"The decision of the International Criminal Court besides being stupid... is also an illegitimate decision," said Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya after Russia took control of the Security Council's monthly rotating membership.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has blasted Russia's helming of the Security Council as highlighting the institution's “total bankruptcy”.

The warrant "means nothing to us," Mr Nebenzya said.

"Those who encouraged the decision, perhaps already regret they did it... because it doesn't make us closer to any resolution of the current crisis we're living in."

The UK's Deputy Ambassador to the UN, James Kariuki, said Russia was in “no position” to talk about international law or UN values.

“It is waging a war of aggression against Ukraine, violating the most basic principle of the UN Charter — you don’t redraw borders by force, and its president has been indicted by the ICC for the systematic abduction of Ukrainian children,” he said in a statement.

More than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been taken to Russia since Moscow's invasion began last year, according to Kyiv, with many said to be placed in institutions and foster homes.

Mr Kariuki added that Britain would keep using its seat on the council to challenge Russia’s “illegal war”, and expose the Kremlin’s “disinformation” campaign.

Last week, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Moscow's presidency a “bad joke”.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US Ambassador to the UN, echoed those statements in saying that Russia assuming its seat as council president was “like an April Fool's joke”.

“But the truth of the matter is, it's a rotating seat,” she said.

“We expect that they will behave professionally. But we also expect that they will use their seat to spread disinformation and to promote their own agenda as it relates to Ukraine, and we will stand ready to call them out at every single moment that they attempt to do that.”

Russia is expected to hold two signature events during its presidency: The first one will be an open debate on “risks stemming from violations of the agreements regulating the export of weapons and military equipment”.

This will be followed by a ministerial-level open debate, headed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, on “effective multilateralism through defence of the principles of the UN Charter.”

Mr Nebenzya confirmed Mr Lavrov would be travelling to New York for the ministerial later this month.

“We plan to have a comprehensive and strategic forward-looking discussion on the formation of a new multipolar world order based on sovereign equality, equal rights and self-determination,” he added.

Russia has also planned ministerial-level participation in the quarterly open debate on the Middle East, which Mr Lavrov is expected to lead. Mr Nebenzya said the session would focus on the “stagnation” of the Palestinian-Israeli settlement.

Ms Thomas-Greenfield told reporters on Monday that she had no plans to meet the Foreign Minister during his visit.

The 15-member Security Council, the UN’s most powerful organ, has a rotating presidency that goes in alphabetical order.

The last time Russia held the presidency was in February last year.

On the 24th day of its presidency, Mr Putin launched his “special military operation” into neighbouring Ukraine, in breach of the UN Charter and international law.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

England v South Africa Test series:

First Test: at Lord's, England won by 211 runs

Second Test: at Trent Bridge, South Africa won by 340 runs

Third Test: at The Oval, July 27-31

Fourth Test: at Old Trafford, August 4-8

Key recommendations
  • Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
  • Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
  • Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
  • More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Brief scores:

Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first

Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)

Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15

Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)

Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49

Greatest Royal Rumble match listing

50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias

Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match

WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura

Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe

United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal

SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos

Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt

Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev

Singles match John Cena v Triple H

Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto

White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogenChromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxideUltramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica contentOphiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on landOlivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour

Sunday:
GP3 race: 12:10pm
Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
Performance: Guns N' Roses

Recent winners

2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)

2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)

2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)

2007 Grace Bijjani  (Mexico)

2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)

2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)

2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)

2011 Maria Farah (Canada)

2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)

2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)              

2014 Lia Saad  (UAE)

2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)

2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)

2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)

2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

2021 World Triathlon Championship Series

May 15: Yokohama, Japan
June 5: Leeds, UK
June 24: Montreal, Canada
July 10: Hamburg, Germany
Aug 17-22: Edmonton, Canada (World Triathlon Championship Final)
Nov 5-6 : Abu Dhabi, UAE
Date TBC: Chengdu, China

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Updated: April 03, 2023, 9:22 PM