UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council late on Tuesday failed to adopt the Arab coalition’s bid calling for the creation of a Palestinian state and an end to Israeli ‘occupation’. The resolution was unable to garner nine needed vote to be put for vote.
The United States and Australia voted against the resolution while France, China and Russia were among the eight countries that voted for it. Britain along with Lithuania, Nigeria, Korea and Rwanda abstained from the vote.
The US however still used its veto power and voted against the resolution. This resolution sets the stage for more division, not for compromise,” said US Ambassador Samantha Power, calling the draft a “staged confrontation”.
“The United Kingdom supports much of the content of the draft resolution. It is, therefore, with deep regret that we abstained from it,” said UK ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant.
“We are disappointed that the normal and necessary negotiation did not take place on this occasion.”
However, Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said that Moscow “cannot share the objections of those who believe that the draft resolution was undermining the prospects of the negotiating process”.
“Unfortunately last year revealed how this process has gone into a blind alley, with its monopolization by the United States and their pullback from the Quartet (US, EU, UN and Russia). We believe this to be a strategic mistake,” said Churkin.
,Liu Jieyi, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations in his remarks said ‘this draft reflects just demands of Arab states, including the Palestinian people, and is in accord with the relevant UN resolutions, the ‘land for peace’ principle, the Arab peace initiative and middle-Eastern peace roadmap.
And is also in accord with China’s consistent position. We express deep regret over the failure of the draft resolution to be adopted.
Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2015
