The United Nations Security Council voted on Tuesday to reject a draft resolution tabled by Russia, to investigate allegations that the United States was developing bioweapons in Ukraine.
Russia and China voted in favour, the US, France and Britain voted against, while the 10 non-permanent members abstained.
“We are extremely disappointed,” said Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Dmitri Polyansky. “Western countries demonstrated in every way that the law does not apply to them and they are not going to fulfil this provision and they are ready to trample any norm, to flout any rule.”
“We will continue to act within the rules of Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and will do everything possible to ascertain all facts connected with the US and Ukraine violating obligations under Convention within the context of biological laboratories operating in Ukrainian territory,” he claimed.
The resolution, along with a 310-page document, was sent to members last week. It made allegations of a “military biological” programme in Ukraine, sponsored by the US Defence Department.
Kiev and Washington have strongly denied the claims.
“The United States voted against this resolution because it is based on disinformation, dishonesty, bad faith and a total lack of respect for this body,” said US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
“Russia tried and failed to claim that we had violated the BWC at the article 5 meeting in Geneva this past September. Russia failed to provide any credible evidence to support these false allegations,” she continued.
Reports suggest Moscow is planning to raise the issue again at the Biological Weapons Convention review conference later this month, in Geneva.
