China regrets US blocking UN statement calling for an immediate ceasefire
The US has reportedly blocked a joint statement from the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire to end the violence by Israel which has killed nearly 200 Palestinians including 92 children and women.
This is the third time in a week that United States has blocked the joint UN move.
The statement was introduced by Norway, Tunisia and China following an emergency session earlier in the day on the ongoing violence in Gaza.
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members condemned the violence in the Middle East during an emergency session Sunday but failed to agree on a unified position.
“Regrettably, simply because of the obstruction of one country, the Security Council hasn’t been able to speak with one voice,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during the virtual meeting. “We call upon the United States to shoulder its due responsibilities of taking a just position.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week said that the U.S. had delayed a public Security Council meeting, said he wanted to “give some time for the diplomacy to have some effect and to see if, indeed, we get a real de-escalation.”