Gaza vote ‘sabotaged’ by Russia and China

THE US has accused Russia and China of sabotaging a Gaza ceasefire resolution at the UN, arguing they “would rather see us fail” than end the war.

Beijing and Moscow’s representatives blocked a US-backed motion calling for a ceasefire yesterday, arguing it did not go far enough.

They said the US’s call for an “imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire” was not strong enough, calling the resolution “pointless” and accusing Washington of “fooling around”. The resolution said a truce should be in “connection” with the release of hostages, not unconditional.

The vote came as Joe Biden’s administration stepped up its demands for Israel to lay down arms in Gaza and called for a planned offensive in Rafah to be abandoned. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, said: “Russia and China did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the US, because it would rather see us fail than to see this Council succeed.”

The US has previously used its own veto to block calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, most recently on Feb 20. However, this week it circulated a draft resolution describing an “imperative” for an end to the war and supporting diplomatic efforts to release Hamas hostages.

Russia disputed its wording, arguing that the phrase “imperative” was not clear enough that the ceasefire should happen immediately. Zhang Jun, China’s ambassador, also said the resolution was not “clear” enough on the timing of a ceasefire and Beijing supported a draft without the “imperative” phrasing.