Vassily Nebenzia: 鈥榃e are in conflict with the West鈥�
Russia鈥檚 ambassador to the UN: 鈥榃e are in conflict with the West鈥�
Russia鈥檚 ambassador to the UN has told the 大象传媒 that his country is 鈥榠n a conflict with the West鈥� and accused the US and its allies of waging a proxy war 鈥榓t the expense of Ukrainian lives.鈥�
In an exclusive interview with HARDtalk鈥檚 Stephen Sackur in New York, Vassily Nebenzia said that by supplying weapons to Ukraine, 鈥榯he US and the West are complicit in what is happening鈥� in the conflict.
Asked about allegations that North Korea is supplying Russian forces with weapons, in contravention of an arms embargo, Ambassador Nebenzia said, 鈥榥obody yet could provide us material evidence.鈥�
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 鈥榯he Iranians said, 鈥渓et's sit together at the table and provide us with the material evidence,鈥� [the] Ukrainians never came back.鈥�
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.
