Russia adopts decree on non-payment of voluntary contribution to UN Economic Commission for Europe

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia said on Monday that it adopted a decree on the non-payment of its voluntary contribution to the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) for 2022, due to being forced by the destructive actions of the US and EU countries in the commission.

“These states, in violation of internal procedures, ‘pushed through’ a number of illegitimate decisions in the UNECE Executive Committee aimed at limiting interaction between Russia and the commission,” a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry read.

The statement said these actions resulted in the blocking of “Russian technical assistance projects in the UNECE, the implementation of which, in turn, is financed from the WFD (Water Framework Directive) funds," noting that Moscow does not intend to use Russian donor funds in the UNECE for anything other than development projects.

“We note with regret that the credibility and effectiveness of the commission, as well as the Central Asian and Transcaucasian states, the main recipients of Russian assistance, suffered from the unfriendly actions of the EU and the US,” the statement further said.

It also said that over 100 projects have been implemented in the past 15 years, when Russia gave donations to the UNECE.

“We will be ready to return to the practice of making Russian voluntary contributions to the UNECE after the restoration of a respectful and constructive interstate dialogue on the platform of the commission. We continue the practice of financing development projects through other organizations of the UN system,” the statement concluded.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​