Russia considers the suspension of its membership in the United Nations’ Human Rights Council to be “illegal and politically motivated,” the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
The suspension is an “illegal and politically motivated step aimed at punishing a sovereign UN member state that pursues an independent domestic and foreign policy,” the ministry said in its statement.
Earlier on Thursday, the UN General Assembly suspended Russia from the Human Rights Council over “gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights” committed in Ukraine.
The vote was triggered by the atrocities committed by Russians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, which Kyiv’s officials entered this Sunday and reported over 410 residents killed at the hands of Russians.
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Moscow denied targeting civilians and claimed that Kyiv “staged” a “provocation” for Western media.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted in an interview with Sky News on Thursday that the dead bodies seen in the streets of Bucha were a “well-staged insinuation.”
The ministry added that Russia has decided to give up its membership immediately as of Thursday.
“Russia's sincere commitment to the cause of protecting and promoting human rights does not allow us to remain longer a part of the international mechanism that has turned into an executor of the will of this group of countries that, in order to push through their goals and obtain the necessary votes in decision-making, do not shy away from open blackmail of sovereign states,” the statement added.
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