Russia and China on Thursday vetoed a resolution proposed by the United States to strengthen international sanctions against North Korea in response to its latest missile tests at the UN Security Council.
The text received the support of 13 of the 15 members of the Security Council, but it did not go ahead, since Moscow and Beijing have veto power and can block the measure.
The US initiative sought to reinforce the punishments that weigh on the government of Pyongyang, which has carried out 17 rounds of missile tests so far this year, contrary to the Security Council’s own resolutions that prohibit them.
The US announced two months ago that it would try to tighten sanctions and has since tried unsuccessfully to convince China and Russia to do so, arguing that the United Nations needs to clearly respond to North Korean provocations.
“North Korea interpreted this Council’s silence as a green light to act with impunity and increase tensions on the peninsula,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said ahead of the vote.
However, the Chinese and Russian delegations once again insisted that sanctions are not the appropriate response and blamed the US for the current situation.
Russia and China have been saying for months that what needs to be done is to ease sanctions to recognize the gestures of rapprochement that North Korea has made in recent years, in which it even negotiated with the US government when it was led by President Donald Trump. .
North Korea for a while abandoned its weapons tests, but resumed them due to lack of progress in dialogue with the United States. Russia and China blame the US for this blockade, saying they have made no concessions and have not reciprocated the gestures of the Kim Jong Un regime.
Chinese Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun said today that imposing more sanctions will not only not solve the problem, but will further complicate the situation in the country, as it will punish the population at a time complicated by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Russian counterpart Vasily Nebenzya said the US government’s “hard line” “completely destroyed the positive progress” made in previous years. “Increasing pressure with sanctions on Pyongyang is not only pointless, it is extremely dangerous from a humanitarian point of view,” Nebenzya said.
While they have always held different positions on North Korea, the Security Council powers have for years managed to agree to respond to Kim’s nuclear and missile program and avoid cross vetoes.
After imposing the first sanctions in 2006, after North Korea carried out its first atomic test, the Security Council progressively tightened punishments until 2017, when it approved the most recent package, which included strong limitations on access to oil products and vetoes. exports from different sectors.
The resolution proposed this week by the United States sought to add new restrictions to pressure the North Korean government while, according to Washington, at the same time facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population.
Although the rest of the countries supported the initiative, several member states tried until the last moment to delay the vote to avoid such a clear rupture in the Council, according to diplomatic sources.
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