Russia on Nov. 18 vetoed a United Nations Security Council draft resolution calling for the two warring parties in Sudan to immediately lay down their arms and allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Moscow was the only member of the 15-strong council to object to the measure put forward by Britain and Sierra Leone.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said after the vote in New York that Russia’s veto was “mean, nasty, and cynical.”
“I ask the Russian representative, in all conscience—sitting there on his phone—how many more Sudanese have to be killed?” Lammy said. “How many more women have to be raped? How many more children have to go without food before Russia will act?”
In response, Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the U.N. Dmitry Polyanskiy said Lammy’s criticism was an “excellent demonstration of British neo-colonialism” and accused Britain of attempting to meddle in Sudanese affairs.
“We agree with all Security Council colleagues that the conflict in Sudan requires a swift resolution,” Polyanskiy told the meeting. “It is also clear that the only way to achieve this is for the warring parties to agree to a cease-fire.”
War broke out in the African nation in April 2023 due to a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), ahead of a planned transition from military to civilian rule.
The ensuing violence triggered the world’s largest displacement crisis.
The draft resolution called on both sides of the war to “immediately cease hostilities and engage, in good faith, in dialogue to agree on steps to de-escalate the conflict with the aim of urgently agreeing a national cease-fire.”
It further urged them to begin a dialogue to agree on humanitarian pauses and arrangements, and to ensure the safe passage of civilians and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is aligned with the SAF, supported the move while RSF did not.
“The government of Sudan commends the Russian position, which came as an expression of ... respect for the sovereignty of states and international law, and support for the independence and unity of Sudan and its national institutions,” Khartoum’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
According to the U.N., more than 25 million people—half of Sudan’s population—require aid as famine grips displacement camps. More than 11 million people have fled their homes, and more than three million of them have left the country altogether.
The vast majority of the deaths were attributed to preventable starvation and disease. About 26,024 deaths were classified as “intentional” killings, according to the paper.
