[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The so-called E3 (the three European countries: the UK, France, and Germany) have urged the United Nations to investigate Iran's drone exports to Russia, claiming that it violates the 2015 UN Security Council resolution.
According to foreign media, the ambassadors of the three countries to the UN stated in a letter sent to the UN, "The UN Secretariat is responsible for monitoring the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231," and "We would welcome an investigation team from the Secretariat." The three countries also expressed their agreement with Ukraine's earlier call for an on-site UN investigation in the letter.
Earlier, ahead of the UN Security Council meeting on the 18th, Serhii Kyslytsya, Ukraine's ambassador to the UN, sent a letter to the UN Secretariat urging an investigation. In response, Russia opposed this, stating that the UN should ignore the demands of the West.
According to Russia's Sputnik News Agency, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's ambassador to the UN, said, "The UN Secretariat has no intention of following the instructions of Western countries that violate the UN Charter and will not start an investigation," adding, "We expect the Secretariat to clearly confirm this point." He further warned, "If the UN nonetheless starts an investigation citing Resolution 2231 without any basis, we will reconsider all relations with the UN Secretariat."
Security Council Resolution 2231 was adopted to ensure the implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA - Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). It includes provisions banning Iran's conventional arms exports and imports until October 2020. However, according to this resolution, restrictions on the export and import of advanced technologies such as missiles apply until October 2023. The US and other Western countries claim that Iran's drone exports violate this clause.
Recently, Russia has been persistently attacking Ukraine's infrastructure using drones. Ukraine, the US, and Europe believe that the drones used by Russia are the Iranian-made Shahed-136, but Russia insists that the drones in question are domestically produced Russian products.
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