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STORY: UN / RUSSIA NEBENZIA PRESSER
TRT: 04:27
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 17 JUNE 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, UN headquarters
17 JUNE 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Russian ambassador walks up to the stakeout area
3. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Russian Federation:
“We're here today to speak out following some regrettable developments in the work of the Security Council. Despite the clearly terrorist nature of the recent attacks against passenger trains in the Bryansk and Voronezh regions of the Russian Federation on May 31, June 1, and June 5, which resulted in the death of seven civilians and left over 100 injured, some well-known delegations, whom I will not mention by name, refused to engage constructively with our draft resolution condemning these acts of terrorism. Let me be clear, our draft was based entirely on previously agreed Security Council language, including resolution 1373, and firmly grounded in international law, including the UN Charter and the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. It sought to reaffirm the very basic principle of the Council's approach in this domain, namely, that terrorism is criminal and unjustifiable regardless of motivation. We felt it important for the Council to send a strong signal demonstrating unity among its members and serving as a deterrent. Unfortunately, that was not the case. From the very beginning, these delegations resorted to politicization and artificial linkage of these terrorist attacks to the broader context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.”
4. Wide shot, Russian ambassador at the stakeout microphone
5. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Russian Federation:
“Another issue, the condemnation of terrorism does not exhaust the list of topics on which some members of the Council are unable to engage constructively. To our disappointment, our proposal to adopt a Statement of the President of the Security Council in order to welcome and encourage interaction between Russia and Ukraine on reunification of Ukrainian children who may have lost contact with their families was also blocked. Last week, the Russian Federation proposed a draft statement reflecting the fact that at the direct bilateral talks between the representatives of Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on June the second, upon the request of the Russian side to provide the full list of children who lost contact with their families in Ukraine, the latter handed over the list of 339 names. We also proposed that the Council welcome this fact and urge cooperation between Russia and Ukraine on this issue as a part of the peace process. However, certain members of the Council, who for many years falsely claimed that tens of thousands of Ukrainian children were abducted by Russia, refused to acknowledge the reality. It came as no surprise that for these members, who have been actively involved in the disinformation campaign for and by the Kyiv regime since the very start of the special military operation, this new development turned out to be extremely inconvenient. Instead of welcoming the readiness of the parties to work together in good faith, some of the Security Council members chose to condition the adoption of the presidential statement on the inclusion of a number of politically motivated provisions. The reality is that the Russian Federation was never engaged in illegal deportation of Ukrainian children, but it has evacuated a number of children from the battle areas for the sake of their own safety. Some of them lost contact with their relatives. We have constantly worked to reestablish it and will continue to do so.”
6. Wide shot, Russian ambassador at the stakeout microphone
7. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Russian Federation:
“There was a conversation between President Putin and President Trump the other day, and President Putin said that we are ready to do what we can - to facilitate. That was said directly to President Trump. So, in that sense, yes, we are coordinating, but we don't have any mediation efforts on the ground.”
8. Wide shot, end of press briefing
Addressing reporters, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya, said that “despite the clearly terrorist nature” of recent attacks on passenger trains in the Bryansk and Voronezh regions of Russia, “some well-known delegations” refused to engage constructively with a Russian draft resolution condemning the incidents. The attacks, which occurred on May 31, June 1, and June 5, killed seven civilians and injured over 100.
“Our draft was based entirely on previously agreed Security Council language,” Nebenzya said today (17 Jun), citing resolution 1373 and relevant international law. “It sought to reaffirm the very basic principle of the Council's approach in this domain, namely, that terrorism is criminal and unjustifiable regardless of motivation,” he added.
Nebenzya said Russia had hoped the Council would send “a strong signal demonstrating unity,” but according to the ambassador some “delegations resorted to politicization and artificial linkage of these terrorist attacks to the broader context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.”
Nebenzya also said, “To our disappointment, our proposal to adopt a Statement of the President of the Security Council in order to welcome and encourage interaction between Russia and Ukraine on reunification of Ukrainian children who may have lost contact with their families was also blocked.”
According to the ambassador, during direct talks in Istanbul on June 2, Ukraine handed over a list of 339 children who had lost contact with their families.
Nebenzya said, “The reality is that the Russian Federation was never engaged in illegal deportation of Ukrainian children, but it has evacuated a number of children from the battle areas for the sake of their own safety. Some of them lost contact with their relatives. We have constantly worked to reestablish it and will continue to do so.”
When asked about a potential U.S.-Russia mediation of Iran-Israel conflict, Nebenzya confirmed, “There was a conversation between President Putin and President Trump the other day, and President Putin said that we are ready to do what we can - to facilitate. That was said directly to President Trump.”
He concluded, “In that sense, yes, we are coordinating, but we don't have any mediation efforts on the ground.”
