Russia says Security Council becomes hostage to US Middle East policy
(Baonghean.vn) - Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said: "The actions of our American colleagues do not reflect the principled views of the remaining members of the United Nations Security Council."
Russia's TASS news agency reported on May 2 that Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said that the United Nations Security Council has effectively become a hostage to the US's Middle East policy.
“We regret this very much,” he told a meeting of the UN General Assembly after the US vetoed a Security Council resolution to admit Palestine as a full member of the UN. “The actions of our American colleagues do not reflect the principled position of the remaining members of the UN Security Council, who have been held hostage to US Middle East policy for the past six months.”
In late April, the United States vetoed an Algerian-sponsored resolution to admit Palestine as a member of the United Nations.
Palestine applied for full UN membership in September 2011 but failed to get the support of the UN Security Council. The US said it would veto the resolution if it was ratified by the other permanent members. According to Washington, Palestine can only be admitted to the UN after the Palestinian-Israeli issue is resolved on a two-state basis. The Palestinian Authority has decided to postpone the issue and remain a permanent observer.
A country is granted membership in the United Nations by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. Such a recommendation must be supported by nine of the 15 members of the Security Council and not vetoed by one of the five permanent members (the United Kingdom, China, Russia, the United States, and France). If this condition is met, the matter is referred to the General Assembly, where it will need a two-thirds majority vote.
