Vasily Nebenzya
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Vasily Alekseyevich Nebenzya (; born 26 February 1962) is a Russian diplomat and the current
Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations is the leader of Permanent Mission of Russia to the United Nations, Russia's diplomatic mission to the United Nations. Vasily Nebenzya is charged with representing Russia ...
. His official title is
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
.


Life and career

Nebenzya was born 26 February 1962 in
Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...
. His father was Deputy Chairman of the USSR State Committee for Publishing Aleksei Andreevich Nebenzya (1923–1994). He graduated from the
Moscow State Institute of International Relations Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) (, also known as MGIMO University) is an higher education, institute of higher education located in Moscow, Russia. The institute is run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Russian ...
in 1983. Since then he has pursued a diplomatic career. *1988–1990 — attaché of the USSR Embassy in
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. *1990–1991 — third Secretary Directorate for international economic relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. *1991–1992 — second Secretary Department of international organizations Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and Russia. *1993-1996 — head of Department, Department of international organizations
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; , МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with leading the foreign policy and foreign relations of Russia. It is a continuation of the Ministry of Foreig ...
. *1996–2000 — Advisor, senior Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Russia to the UN. *2000–2006 — head of Department, Deputy Director of the Department of international organizations Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. *2006–2011 — Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the
World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...
. *2011–2012 — Deputy
Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations is the leader of Permanent Mission of Russia to the United Nations, Russia's diplomatic mission to the United Nations. Vasily Nebenzya is charged with representing Russia ...
office and other international organizations in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
. *2012–2013 — Director of Department for humanitarian cooperation and human rights Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. *2013–2017 — Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia. *Since 27 July 2017 — Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.


Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN


Nomination and confirmation

In February 2017, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN
Vitaly Churkin Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin ( rus, Виталий Иванович Чуркин, p=vʲɪˈtalʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ˈtɕurkʲɪn; 21 February 1952 – 20 February 2017) was a Russian diplomat. As a child actor, he starred in three films '' The Blu ...
died. In March 2017, Nebenzya was named as one of the main candidates for the post alongside the Permanent Representative of Russia to NATO Alexander Grushko, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Anatoly Antonov. On 21 April 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia nominated him for the post of UN Ambassador. The following month he was officially approved by the
Federal Assembly of Russia The Federal Assembly is the bicameral national legislature of Russia. The upper house is the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council, and the lower house is the State Duma. The assembly was established by the Constitution of the Russian F ...
. President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
appointed Nebenzya as Permanent Representative to the United Nations on 27 July 2017, and he presented his credentials to the
UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...
António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...
the following day.


Invasion of Ukraine in 2022

At the time of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
in late February 2022, Nebenzya was serving as the president of the UN Security Council, a position which rotates monthly between the 15 UN member states with seats on the Council. The holder of the presidency is considered to be the "face" and spokesperson of the UNSC. On 23 February 2022 (New York time), President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion via video message while the Security Council was meeting. When the Ukrainian Representative
Sergiy Kyslytsya Sergiy Olehovych Kyslytsya (; born 15 August 1969) is a Ukrainian career diplomat, who serves as Ambassador Extraordinary. He had previously served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2014–2019), Plenipotentiary of Ukraine and ...
called upon Nebenzya to "call Lavrov right now" and "do everything possible to stop the war", Nebenzya simply stated that "waking up Minister Lavrov at this time is not something I plan to do". Despite calls for his resignation, Nebenzya did not offer it. He vetoed a proposed resolution by the UNSC condemning the invasion. Speaking at the
Eleventh emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly A plenary meeting of the eleventh emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on 28 February 2022 at the Headquarters of the United Nations, United Nations headquarters. Called by the United Nations Security Council R ...
on the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nebenzya maintained that "… there is a need to demilitarize and de-nazify Ukraine" and that "media and social networks" had "distorted and thwarted" the image of Russia's actions. On 30 September 2022, Nebenzya attempted to justify the Russian occupation of southeastern Ukraine, claiming that these Ukrainian regions had chosen to be part of Russia. According to Nebenzya, one of the purposes of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is "undermining the military capability of the
Ukrainian army The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...
which poses a threat to the security and territorial integrity of Russia". During a meeting of the Security Council on 24 November 2022, he explained the purpose of Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure, saying: "We're carrying out attacks on infrastructure facilities in Ukraine in response to the country being loaded with Western weapons and unwise calls for Kyiv to wield a military victory over Russia." He claimed that "Ukraine's air defence is to blame for residential houses getting damaged and civilians getting killed in Ukraine." At a
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
meeting of 14 January 2023, Nebenzya stated that "only when the threat for Russia no longer emanates from the territory of Ukraine and when the discrimination against the Russian-speaking population of this country ends" it could stop its military actions. Nebenzya continued that "Otherwise,
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
will get what it wants militarily". Nebenzya further claimed that Russia does not want "the destruction of Ukraine as a state, its de-
Ukrainianisation Ukrainization or Ukrainisation ( ) is a policy or practice of increasing the usage and facilitating the development of the Ukrainian language and promoting other elements of Ukrainian culture in various spheres of public life such as education, ...
and forced
Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...
''. On 20 September, 2023,
President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...
Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...
made his first appearance at the UN Security Council. Nebenzya protested Zelenskyy taking the floor, and accused the Prime Minister of Albania
Edi Rama Edi Rama (born Edvin Kristaq Rama; 4 July 1964) is an Albanian politician, artist and writer who has been serving as the 33rd and incumbent prime minister of Albania since 2013 and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005. He was M ...
, who was serving as the council president, of turning the meeting into "a one-man stand-up show" and it would be "nothing more than a spectacle" to which Rama replied "this is not a special operation by the Albanian presidency" adding "There is a solution for this. If you agree, you stop the war and President Zelenskyy will not take the floor". Nebenzya did not agree.


2023 Israel–Hamas war

On 1 November 2023, several weeks after the Hamas-led attack on Israel, Nebenzya stated that
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
doesn't have a right to self-defense in Gaza, since it is considered an "occupying power".


See also

*
Permanent Mission of Russia to the United Nations The Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in New York (''Постоянное представительство Российской Федерации при ООН в г. Нью-Йорк'') is a diplomatic mission of ...
*
Russia and the United Nations The Russian Federation continued (see Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union) to use the Soviet Union's seat, including its permanent membership on the Security Council in the United Nations after the 1991 dissolution of the ...
*
List of diplomatic missions of Russia This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russia, Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and cons ...
*
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; , МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with leading the foreign policy and foreign relations of Russia. It is a continuation of the Ministry of Foreig ...


References


External links


Brief Biography from Permanent Mission of Russia to the United Nations websiteC-SPAN appearances
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nebenzya, Vasily Alekseevich 1962 births Living people Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni Soviet diplomats Deputy foreign ministers of Russia 20th-century diplomats 21st-century Russian diplomats Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Russian Federation) Permanent representatives of Russia to the United Nations Politicians from Volgograd Recipients of the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia)