Russia will not contribute to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) for the year 2024, as per a decision signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, which has been published on the official Russian portal for legal information.
According to the text of the decision, the move was proposed by the Foreign Ministry and coordinated with the Finance Ministry. The Foreign Ministry has also been instructed to inform the UNECE Secretariat of the decision.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations, established in 1947 by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations to promote economic activities and strengthen economic relations within the UNECE region and between the region and the rest of the world. UNECE serves as a regional forum for governments to develop conventions, norms and standards to harmonize measures and facilitate the exchange of opinions between member states.
Moscow had already failed to pay its contributions for 2022 and 2023. On January 23, 2023, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Russia was prepared to resume its contributions to UNECE once a respectful and constructive dialogue was resumed on the platform of the commission.
The Russian Foreign Ministry at the time attributed the unfriendly actions of the European Union and the United States as having impaired the reputation and efficiency of UNECE and also affecting the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, which were the main recipients of Russian aid.