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.
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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
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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.
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Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
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Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
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Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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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)
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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