MOSCOW. May 2 (Interfax) - The mandate of the group of experts of the UN Security Council 1718 Sanctions Committee on sanctions against North Korea expired on April 30, Moscow does not see a need for its prolongation.
"Further attempts to revive its [the group's] existence to make things 'as they were before' are pointless," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a commentary published on the Russian Foreign Ministry site on Thursday.
The Russian Foreign Ministry believes the work of the sanctions team on North Korea was "not independent and biased" and is convinced that Russia made the right decision "to put an end to its work."
The UN Security Council on March 28 declined the draft resolution on the prolongation by one year of the mandate of the 1718 Committee, which oversees the observance of sanctions against Pyongyang. While 13 members supported the resolution, Russia used its right to veto it and China abstained. The reasons for this step were stated in a commentary of the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson of March 29.
The media reported that the resolution does not affect the UN sanctions against Pyongyang in any way and they remain in force.
Reports of the 1718 Sanctions Committee, which oversees sanctions against North Korea, have no legal force; they serve as a foundation for making decisions on international sanctions introduced by the UN Security Council by a number of resolutions. Bloomberg reported that North Korea has ignored these resolutions more than once and continues developing nuclear warheads and missiles. The United States and its allies in Asia, Japan and South Korea, continue accusing North Korea of alleged weapons supplies to Russia.
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