⚡️ On October 30, the UN Security Council failed to extend the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (#MINURSO). ❌ The Russian delegation was compelled to vote against the relevant draft resolution prepared by the US. China, Pakistan and Somalia abstained. Apparently, the authors assumed that we would not block the extension of a UN operation headed by a Russian national and included provisions unacceptable to us and several other UN Security Council members. These provisions sought to enshrine a single option for resolving the Western Sahara issue, denying the people of Western Sahara the right to choose their own future and that of the land they have inhabited since the end of Spanish colonial rule in North Africa. 👉 Such an outcome would run counter to the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, including the principle of self-determination. The Russian Federation does not support solutions imposed from outside through ultimatums. Any plans for a Western Sahara settlement must be developed through negotiations aimed at reaching mutually acceptable agreements, based on the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. We are disappointed that US diplomats failed to distinguish between their own national position recognising Western Sahara as part of Morocco and their role as the informal lead on the Western Sahara file in the UN Security Council, which requires them to act as an “honest broker”. Recognising the importance of MINURSO’s work, we submitted an alternative short draft resolution to the Security Council that would have extended the Mission’s mandate for one year without any changes, including to the parameters of the Western Sahara settlement. Unfortunately, only China and Somalia supported our draft. The US voted against it, while the remaining members abstained. ☝️ As a result, our proposal was not adopted. We believe that full responsibility for winding down the UN presence in Western Sahara, which has long had a stabilising effect on the situation in the region, lies with the US and the countries that sided with it.