Russia says US paralyzed Security Council, blocked resolution on Gaza ceasefire

Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia has blamed the United States for the ongoing atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians, as Washington has opposed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an urgent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

“This ugly situation was brought about by the fact that, because of the United States position, the Security Council has been virtually paralyzed and has not yet been able to adopt a resolution demanding an urgent ceasefire,” Nebenzia said in a statement at UNSC briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue, on Monday.

He noted that the blocking of such UNSC resolutions shows that Washington and Tel Aviv “have quite different plans: to exterminate the population of Gaza or ‘oust’ it from the Strip, and assimilate the rest of the Palestinian population into Israel in order to solve the Palestinian problem.”

Referring to the large number of civilian deaths, the Russian envoy stressed that “a humanitarian disaster of biblical scale is unfolding” in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.

He also strongly condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza from a complete siege to a communications blackout that has cut off the strip from the rest of the world and prevented the passage of a humanitarian convoy.

Noting that Israel decided to implement its plan to expand its ground raids in Gaza after the 193-member UN General Assembly approved a non-binding resolution that calls for an immediate humanitarian truce, the envoy said Israel is “blatantly ignoring the views of the vast majority of UN members, including many Western nations, on the need to end the violence.”

The envoy also slammed Western countries that abstained at the vote on Russia-proposed draft resolutions that called for a ceasefire.

“Colleagues, your double standards are more than obvious. The people of your own countries, where mass demonstrations in support of the Palestinians are taking place, are already demanding accountability for this double-dealing,” he said, addressing Western delegations on the Council.

He pointed out that Moscow is exerting “intensive” efforts, with the aim of “resolving the crisis as soon as possible.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Nebenzia referred to US strikes on two sites in eastern Syria on Thursday, warning that such “illegitimate and unwarranted actions” may “provoke an armed escalation on the regional scale.”

Russia's President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the US is benefiting from chaos in the region.

SS