Russia abstains from US Gaza resolution

According to TASS news agency on November 18, after the vote on the resolution on Gaza on November 17 (Washington time), Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya criticized the UN Security Council resolution on Gaza, which was passed at the initiative of the United States.

"US President Donald Trump's plan does not explicitly state that they will demilitarize Gaza and disarm local groups by all possible means.

However, this resolution assigns the mission peacekeeping objectives that would make it a party to the conflict and go beyond the scope of peacekeeping. To our knowledge, none of the countries with troop-contributing capacity will participate in this initiative.

At the same time, we note that the council members have little time to work diligently and find compromises. Putting pressure on capitals and delegations in New York can hardly be considered a conscientious act. In short, the document presented by the United States is a hoax. The council is essentially accepting the US initiative on Washington's word of honor," said Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's permanent representative to the UN.

According to Mr. Nebenzya, the most important thing is that this document becomes a cover for uncontrolled experiments by the US and Israel on the Palestinian territory, and does not become a "conclusion" for the two-state solution.

The US Permanent Mission to the United Nations previously reported that the US draft resolution included provisions supporting “international stabilisation forces” and ensuring “a stable, secure, peaceful and prosperous future for Palestinians in Gaza without Hamas.” The US delegation made it clear that it had been negotiating the document at the UN Security Council since early November.

The United Nations Security Council had previously approved the document. Russia and China abstained.