India votes against a draught resolution sponsored by Russia at the UN Security Council to investigate Ukraine's alleged use of biological weapons.
On November 3, the resolution was defeated because only two Council members, Russia and China, voted in favour of it.
India has abstained on yet another resolution involving Ukraine, this time a motion sponsored by Russia at the UN Security Council that sought to establish a commission to investigate Moscow's claims that the US and Ukraine are conducting "military biological activities" in Ukrainian laboratories in violation of the biological weapons convention.
On November 3, only two Council members, Russia and China, voted in favour of the resolution, while the United States, the United Kingdom, and France voted against it, and the remaining Council members, including India, abstained.
Counsellor A. Amarnath of India's Permanent Mission to the United Nations stated in his explanation of the vote that India places a high value on the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), which is the first non-discriminatory disarmament treaty that prohibits a broad range of weapons of mass destruction.
"We remain committed to improving the BWC's effectiveness and strengthening its implementation in both letter and spirit," he said.
According to Mr. Amarnath, India also reiterates the need to negotiate a comprehensive legally binding protocol that includes an effective, universal, and non-discriminatory verification mechanism to strengthen the Convention's implementation.
"This is necessary to strengthen the BWC and its implementation by the State Parties, and we hope that the current situation will provide an impetus for the State Parties to consider, negotiate, and finalise such a protocol as soon as possible." "After considering all of these factors, India has decided to abstain from the resolution," he said.
In her statement on Russia's proposed UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution on alleged bioweapons in Ukraine, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated that Washington "voted against this resolution because it is based on disinformation, dishonesty, bad faith, and a total lack of respect for this body."
She claimed that Russia has provided no credible evidence to back up these false allegations. "And, as evidenced by today's vote, no one is buying it except China." I will not devote any more time, energy, or resources to Russia's lies. The rest of the Security Council should not either. Not while troops remain on Ukrainian territory. And not while Russian forces continue to attack civilians in Ukraine and commit war crimes. Instead of wasting our time on Russia, we should concentrate on the truth and the horrors Russia has inflicted on the Ukrainian people."
Speaking before the UN Security Council vote, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy stated that the vote "will mark an important milestone for the Security Council." Mr. Polyanskiy said in a statement after the resolution was defeated that Moscow "will continue to act within the BTWC [Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention] framework and make the necessary efforts to establish all the facts related to the violation of obligations under the BTWC by the United States and Ukraine in the context of biological laboratory activities on Ukrainian territory." Eventually, all perpetrators will have to account for such illegal activities in front of the global community."
In response to Mr. Polyanskiy's remarks, Thomas-Greenfield stated, "Russia said this is a milestone." It is. It is a watershed moment in Russia's deception and lies. And the entire world is aware of it. The overwhelming majority of the States Parties who spoke at the Geneva meeting believed that Russia's concerns were unsubstantiated and had been adequately addressed. But this was insufficient for Russia."
Mr. Amarnath noted that India had participated in consultations on the subject under consideration in Geneva in September and had expressed its views on the matter, as well as during previous Council meetings.
"I reiterate that any matter relating to the BWC obligations should be addressed in accordance with the provisions of the Convention and through consultations and cooperation between the relevant parties," Mr. Amarnath said.
Mr. Amarnath went on to say that India wants to emphasise the importance of international cooperation in the field of peaceful biological activities and the exchange of scientific and technical information.
"India emphasises the full and effective implementation of Article 10 of the Convention and emphasises that biological related activities for peaceful purposes that are fully consistent with the obligations of the Convention should not be jeopardised," he said.
Last week, Russian Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia stated at a Security Council meeting that Moscow will present a draught resolution calling for the establishment and dispatch of a commission to investigate claims against the United States and Ukraine regarding compliance with their obligations under the (BTWC) and activities of biological laboratories on Ukrainian territory.
According to Mr. Nebenzia, Russia has long been concerned about "military biological activities carried out with the most direct assistance and participation of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) in laboratories in the territories of the former Soviet republics away from the North American continent and close to Russian borders."
According to him, such activities are carried out "indirectly through the Pentagon's Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and private companies that are permanent contractors of the US DoD... This poses a direct threat to Russia's biological security."
"During the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian Federation obtained a variety of documents and evidence that revealed the true nature of military biological activities of the United States Department of Defense and its contractors with Ukraine in the military biological area," he said.
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