UN chief appoints Russian diplomat Vladimir Voronkov to lead counter-terror unit

Vienna: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday appointed one of Moscow’s veteran diplomats to head a newly created UN Counterterrorism Office, giving a Russian a top job at the world body’s headquarters in New York. Russia’s ambassador to International Organisations in Vienna, Vladimir Voronkov, told Reuters he met with Guterres on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_3733049” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. AP[/caption] Reuters exclusively reported his appointment earlier on Wednesday. UN spokesman Farhan Haq said that in his new role, Voronkov would “provide strategic leadership to UN counterterrorism efforts, participate in the decision-making process of the United Nations and ensure that the cross-cutting origins and impact of terrorism are reflected in the work.” Haq said Voronkov had more than 30 years experience with the Russian foreign service, working primarily on UN issues.“Countering terrorism is one of the things that most countries can work with Russia on,” said a senior Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We have very different views on what counts as a terrorist and what counts as an appropriate response to terrorism from Russia, but at least it’s a discussion we can have more easily than we can have on political affairs or peacekeeping,” the diplomat said. Nationals from four of the five veto-wielding powers on the UN Security Council - the United States, Britain, France and China - have for the past decade held senior UN posts at the world body’s headquarters in New York. An American heads UN political affairs, a Frenchman has run peacekeeping, a Briton has been in charge of humanitarian affairs, and a Chinese national has run economic and social affairs. For the past seven years, a Russian has headed the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime. “It is fair to say that the Russians are under-represented at the UN at the most senior levels,” the senior Western diplomat said. The 193-member United Nations General Assembly approved the creation of a UN Counterterrorism Office last week, which will help states implement a global counterterrorism strategy adopted by the General Assembly in 2006. The strategy, which has been reviewed every two years, aims to address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, measures to prevent and combat terrorism, build states’ capacity to do so, and ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law as the basis for the fight. The appointment of Voronkov ends speculation among some diplomats that Moscow may have wanted its ambassador to the Washington, Sergei Kislyak, to do the job. Kislyak has become embroiled in controversy after some US lawmakers raised concern about his meetings with officials of president Donald Trump’s administration. Trump has denied any collusion by his campaign with Moscow. US intelligence agencies have accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 presidential election to benefit Trump. Russia has denied any such interference.