Vassily Nebenzia: āWe are in conflict with the Westā
Russiaās ambassador to the UN: āWe are in conflict with the Westā
Russiaās ambassador to the UN has told the Ö÷²„“óŠć that his country is āin a conflict with the Westā and accused the US and its allies of waging a proxy war āat the expense of Ukrainian lives.ā
In an exclusive interview with HARDtalkās Stephen Sackur in New York, Vassily Nebenzia said that by supplying weapons to Ukraine, āthe US and the West are complicit in what is happeningā in the conflict.
Asked about allegations that North Korea is supplying Russian forces with weapons, in contravention of an arms embargo, Ambassador Nebenzia said, ānobody yet could provide us material evidence.ā
North Korea is under a United Nations restriction, approved in the past by Russia, which bans countries from trading weapons or other military equipment. The White House says it believes Russia has used North Korean missiles to conduct multiple strikes against Ukraine and the UK has provided satellite photographs to the UN of North Korean cargo shipments to Russia.
Ambassador Nebenzia also denied Iranian drones were being used in the fighting despite fragments being found on Ukrainian territory. He said that when the accusations were first made, the Ukrainians initially sought discussions with Iran. But, Ambassador Nebenzia claimed, when āthe Iranians said, ālet's sit together at the table and provide us with the material evidence,ā [the] Ukrainians never came back.ā
It is almost two years since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In that time, the US and its allies have provided tens of billions of dollars in security assistance to the government in Kyiv.