Russia is not competing with anyone in fighting terrorism and continues favouring the creation of a broad counter-terrorism coalition under the UN supervision, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry department for new challenges and threats Ilya Rogachev said in an interview with TASS on Friday.
Russia is not competing with anyone in fighting terrorism and continues favouring the creation of a broad counter-terrorism coalition under the UN supervision, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry department for new challenges and threats Ilya Rogachev said in an interview with TASS on Friday.
He accentuated: "Russian warplanes are gradually destroying the infrastructure, which the ISIS is using for contraband trade with Syrian and Iraqi oil".
The diplomat added: "It looks as if our partners from the US-led coalition had finally noticed those targets and had started delivering air strikes at ISIS oil facilities".
"Russia is not pursuing a goal to compete against someone. We continue favouring the creation of a broad international coalition under the UN supervision. However, it is good if this competitive battle increases the quality of the final product called security. After all, all of us, the entire world community, are the consumers of this product," Rogachev concluded.
Remember: On December 17, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2253, drafted jointly by Russia and the United States, on combating ISIS and other terrorist organisations and expanding measures to suppress the financing of terrorism. The Russian-US draft was co-sponsored by 68 UN member-states.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation reports that the resolution outlines a set of measures designed to step up work to expose and curb illegal funding channels to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) and affiliated groups and improve the relevant UN monitoring and sanctions mechanisms. It calls for the greater use of the potential of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in this work.
Based on Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the resolution pursues the Russia-initiated campaign at the Security Council to suppress illegal trade, particularly oil trade, with ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist groups and underscores the tasks aimed at implementing related Resolution 2199. Unfortunately, so far, not all member states conscientiously implement their commitment to curb financing to ISIS, for example, the largest flows of oil products exported by ISIS continue moving through Turkey.
The new document urges member states to fully cooperate in investigating crimes intending to finance ISIS, al-Qaeda or affiliated groups, as well as in extraditing and bringing to justice those responsible for these crimes. Special emphasis has been placed on cooperation with countries whose territory or citizens become the targets of terrorist attacks.
The resolution notes ISIS’ independence from al-Qaeda and regards its activity as the most dangerous terrorist threat. In this connection, it has been decided to rename and adjust the powers of the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee, which will now be called the Security Council Committee on Sanctions against ISIS and al-Qaeda. The Sanctions List of punitive measures against terrorists and their accomplices, such as an asset freeze, the cutting-off of illicit funding or other economic aid, a travel ban and an arms embargo, has been similarly renamed.
The resolution obliges the UN Secretary-General to prepare a report on ISIS activities and illicit terrorist financing.
