Russia, China Veto U.S.'s UN 'Ransom Note' for Gaza
Russia said the U.S. draft was a 'hypocritical spectacle'
Russia and China, two countries that have been highly critical of the U.S. support of Israel’s genocide and Gaza, voted against the so-called ceasefire resolution presented by Washington at the UN that was called a “ransom note.”
Russia accused the U.S. of wordplay and The Times of Israel noted that the deal “stopped short of explicitly demanding that Israel immediately end its campaign in Gaza. In the delicate language of Security Council resolutions, the draft ‘determines’ the ‘imperative’ of an ‘immediate and sustained’ ceasefire.
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Russia said the U.S. draft was a “hypocritical spectacle” and Washington, which has rejected a number of agreements, said Moscow put "politics over progress."
“Washington's actions have cost the lives of 32,000 Palestinians,” Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's ambassador to the UN, said, according to the BBC.
Craig Mokhiber, who resigned from his post as director of the New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, mocked the U.S.’s so-called ceasefire resolution to be voted on in the UN on Friday as a “ransom note.
He posted on X: “A draft that does not demand an immediate ceasefire, but instead suggests one might be negotiated if certain conditions are met, and that genocidal attacks can otherwise continue, is not a ceasefire resolution. It is a ransom note.”
Mokhiber resigned from his post on 31 October, stating, “Once again, we are seeing a genocide unfolding before our eyes, and the organization we serve appears powerless to stop it.”
Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, told the Associated Press that Moscow would support a ceasefire in Gaza, but accused to U.S. of playing with its wording.
The AP wrote: “The new draft obtained Thursday by The Associated Press ‘determines’ — which is a council order — ‘the imperative of an immediate and sustained cease-fire,’ with no direct link to the release of hostages taken during Hamas’ surprise attack in Israel on Oct. 7.”
Polyansky said, “What’s an imperative? I have an imperative to give you $100, but … it’s only an imperative, not $100.”
“So, somebody’s fooling around, I think, (with the) international community,” Polyansky said, according to the report. “We are not satisfied with anything that doesn’t call for immediate ceasefire. I think everybody is not satisfied with this. Even Secretary Blinken is not satisfied.”
The U.S. has drawn criticism for vetoing UN resolutions designed to end the unfolding genocide in Gaza.
Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, posted on X in December: “The US government vetoes a UN Security Council call for a Gaza ceasefire. The US cites Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas, but does Biden really think that pummeling Palestinian civilians in Gaza is accomplishing that? Or building the next Hamas?”