国际英语资讯:International community not willing to associate itself with UK, U.S. over poisoning case: R_时事

国际英语资讯:International community not willing to associate itself with UK, U.S. over poisoning case: R

LONDON, April 5 -- The Russian Ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko on Thursday claimed the international community is not willing to associate itself with the UK and the United States over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal after Russia's proposal for a joint inquiry into the case has been voted down at a meeting of Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Wednesday.

"The international community is not ready to associate themselves with the position which was taken by the UK and the U.S. and which was supported by the EU and NATO countries," Yakovenko told a press conference.

Russia proposed a joint Russia-Britain investigation into the poisoning. At the request, the Executive Council of the global chemical weapons watchdog held an extraordinary session behind closed doors on Wednesday, and both Russian and British experts and officials attended the session.

Out of the 41-member OPCW Executive Council, a total of 23 countries had either voted in favor of the proposal or had abstained.

Yakovenko said the 17 countries who abstained from voting at an OPCW meeting Wednesday were under "very strong pressure" of the UK and the United States but that this also showed the international community did not stand on the British side.

"We've got 6 countries who voted in favour and 17 countries who abstained. It means what? It means that these countries were under very strong pressure from the first group which voted against but they take a real, that's an honest position and they disassociate themselves with the position of the West," Yakovenko said.