Security desk: Did Russia Play US on PA and Interpol?

Interpol’s vote to admit the “state of Palestine” as a full member came as a complete surprise to Washington — which thought it had a deal with Russia to keep the Palestinians out, reports the Jerusalem Post’s Michael Wilner. State Department diplomats believed Moscow had agreed to delay a vote on Palestinian membership as long as the United States got its ally Kosovo to withdraw its own bid. Yet when it was all over, “Palestine was in and Kosovo was still out.” One US official said Washington “basically paved the way” for Palestinian membership: “We were relying on this strategy that was flawed.”