UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – The ballistic missile tests conducted by Iran did not violate UN Security Council Resolution 2231 because it does not prohibit ballistic missile launches, but only calls on Tehran to restrain itself from such activities, Russia's Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said on Monday.
"It's not a violation of [Resolution ] 2231," Churkin told reporters in a briefing in front of the UN Security Council. "It's an important legal distinction."
Churkin explained that Resolution 2231 only calls on Iran not to engage in launching ballistic missiles that can be designed to carry and deliver nuclear warheads.
"A call is different from a ban. Legally you cannot violate a call. You can comply or not, but you cannot violate it."
The United States had called earlier that the UN Security Council meet to address Iran’s ballistic missile activities.
