US and Russia stall over proposal for a universal global ceasefire

‘The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war. Pull back from hostilities: silence the guns’

Harriet Alexander

PROPOSALS by the United Nations for a global ceasefire during the Covid-19 pandemic are being quietly blocked by the US and Russia, it has emerged.

António Guterres, the secretarygeneral, has urged warring countries to declare a temporary truce and focus all their attention on fighting the virus.

“The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war,” he said on March 23.

He urged warring factions to “pull back from hostilities: silence the guns, stop the artillery, end the air strikes.”

He reiterated his call on Saturday night, addressing viewers during the One World: Together at Home broadcast organised by Lady Gaga.

But his efforts are being undermined by Washington and Moscow, Foreign Policy reported. Both countries are said to agree on the need for ceasefires in war zones such as Syria, Libya and

Yemen. They both fear, however, that a universal ceasefire agreement could potentially limit their own efforts to mount what they consider legitimate counterterrorism operations overseas.

The US is also concerned, the magazine reported, that a ceasefire could constrain Israel’s ability to carry out military operations in the Middle East.

On Wednesday Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said that there had been progress in the UN Security Council on agreeing a resolution that goes some way towards meeting Mr Guterres’s goal. The resolution is expected to promote limited ceasefires in conflict zones. It stops short, though, of the secretary-general’s wish for a global ceasefire.

Kelly Knight Craft, the US ambassador to the UN, said on Thursday that she hoped negotiations over the French-drafted resolution would conclude this week.

A spokesman for the State Department told Foreign Policy that they supported Mr Guterres’s initiative, but also reserved the right to carry out their own operations.

“The United States supports the secretary-general’s call for a global ceasefire, but have noted that we will continue to fulfil our legitimate counterterrorism mission,” the spokesman said.

The US also declined to join a list of more than 70 countries, including allies such as Britain, France and Germany, that co-signed a letter welcoming the secretary-general’s call for a ceasefire.

Russia’s foreign ministry issued a similar statement to the State Department, confirming that they supported Mr Guterres’s March 23 statement but insisting they be allowed to continue their own operations.