Russia, China and North Korea mounted a joint defense of Pyongyang at a U.N. Security Council (UNSC) meeting, attacking sanctions and dismissing evidence of alleged DPRK violations, two years after Moscow’s veto dismantled the U.N. panel charged with monitoring restrictions against North Korea.

The UNSC convened on Thursday to discuss North Korea’s nuclear issue at the request of the U.S., Denmark, France, Latvia, the U.K. and Bahrain.

Russia’s Ambassador to the U.N. Vassily Nebenzia called the sanctions regime counterproductive, citing the “fundamentally changed” regional situation and arguing that UNSC measures have lost relevance.