Russia rejected on Sunday a US push to widen the UN arms embargo on Sudan, calling the move futile amid the country’s grinding civil war.
Moscow’s envoy to the Security Council, Vasily Nebenzia, said tighter restrictions would not ease Sudanese suffering or halt the fighting.
He voiced concern over the growing use of combat drones in the conflict, calling such weapons a serious threat.
Yet he insisted responsibility was not equal between the warring sides.
Nebenzia rejected framing that assigns both sides equal blame for the devastation.
One side spreads chaos, he said, while the other fights to neutralize what it deems rebel forces tearing the nation apart.
He also criticized existing sanctions, citing the European Union’s July ban on Sudanese gold imports.
Washington, he added, has widened restrictions further, blocking international lenders from extending credit or technical aid to Khartoum.
Such measures amount to hostility against Sudan’s government, Nebenzia said.
He noted the economy already reels from years of war, even as needs mount for rebuilding health care, water systems and farmland.
Ordinary Sudanese, he warned, would ultimately pay the price of any new restrictions.
Moscow views further sanctions proposals through that same lens, he said.
Relief for civilians, Nebenzia argued, will not come from starving the economy.
It will come instead from ending hostilities, expanding humanitarian access and backing recovery, he said.
Russia holds veto power on the Security Council, giving it leverage to block any resolution requiring the body’s approval.
The exchange came as Washington pressed for a broader arms and drone embargo covering all of Sudan.
The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has killed and displaced millions since fighting erupted in 2023.
