WASHINGTON: The United States offered on Saturday to back a global ceasefire during the coronavirus crisis, hours after blocking a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution that called for ending such hostilities.

“In our view, the goal should be to support the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire,” a US State Department spokesperson told journalists in Washington.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has been pushing for a global ceasefire since March 23 amidst growing concerns for the repercussions of a coronavirus outbreak in conflict zones like Kashmir, Syria and Yemen.

Explaining why the United States blocked a UNSC resolution that called for a global ceasefire, the State Department spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, China has been determined to use this resolution to advance false narratives about its response to the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan.”

Two diplomatic sources told CNN that the US wanted all references to the WHO to be deleted from the resolution’s text. The US delegation also rejected an alternative that did not explicitly name the organisation and instead cited “specialised UN health agencies”, the CNN report added.

UNSC member states had been working on the resolution for more than six months and had regularly consulted the US delegation while drafting the resolution, diplomatic sources said.

“The US rejection was a surprise for all,” said another diplomatic source, noting that “a side issue” derailed an effort that could have benefited millions of people across the globe.

“Instead of focusing on real issues, discussions have been transformed into a US-China fight,” the diplomat said. “We are back to square one.”

The US media, while reporting the development, noted the US derailed a move to end hostilities at a time when the entire world was struggling to curb this pandemic and minimise its economic and social impact.

“The Trump administration is using this moment to assail an international healthy body, and zero in on its ire for China’s handling of the pandemic,” CNN commented.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2020