New York, United States

Russia and the United States on Wednesday (Oct 25) voted against each others’ draft resolutions which has further deepened the United Nations Security Council’s deadlock over any unified response to address the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. 

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The proposals come days after the US vetoed a draft resolution proposed by Brazil which condemned the October 7 terror attacks in Israel by Hamas and called for “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting to allow for aid delivery.

However, US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield at the time criticised the text for not mentioning Israel’s right to defend itself. 

‘Broadly similar’ US and Russia proposals

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Notably, both resolutions are said to be similarly worded but the Russia-led proposal calls for a “humanitarian ceasefire” while the US has called for a “humanitarian pause” to enable the safe delivery of aid to civilians in Gaza. 

Both resolutions condemned the terror attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians and urged the UN to address the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. 

Russia, China veto US-led resolution

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Russia and China vetoed the US-led resolution which reportedly shocked several diplomats as it said Israel has a right to defend itself and demanded Iran stop exporting arms to militant groups. 

Nine countries, aside from the US, voted in favour of the Washington-led resolution – Albania, France, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. 

However, it was rejected since China and Russia – two permanent members of the council – voted against the proposal. Brazil and Mozambique abstained from voting.

Ahead of the vote, Thomas-Greenfield said that the US has “worked exhaustively to draft a strong and balanced text.” She also said that in drafting the resolution, “we listened, we engaged” with humanitarian agencies and that the draft includes mechanisms to protect civilians and UN personnel. 

However, after the resolution was double vetoed, Thomas-Greenfield told the 15-member council that she was disappointed and “though today’s vote was a setback, we must not be deterred.”

“The draft does not reflect the world’s strongest calls for a ceasefire, an end to the fighting, and it does not help resolve the issue,” said China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun after the vote. 

He added, “At this moment, ceasefire is not just a diplomatic term. It means the life and death of many civilians.”

Russia-led resolutions fails to garner enough votes

Meanwhile, the Russia-led resolution calls for a “humanitarian ceasefire” and immediate cancellation of evacuation orders by the Israeli army forcing around one million people from northern Gaza to head to the southern part of the Gaza Strip ahead of the ground assault. 

Russia’s Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzya told the council he did not see the point of supporting the US-led draft which, according to him, served the geopolitical interests of one of the members of the council. 

However, the Russian proposal failed to garner the minimum number of votes – four – to pass the resolution. A resolution needs at least nine votes and no vetoes by the five permanent members of the Security Council in order for it to be adopted. 

Four countries that voted in favour of Russia’s resolution were China, Gabon, and UAE while the US and UK voted against it. Additionally, nine countries abstained from voting for Russia’s proposal. 

This was Russia’s second attempt at a resolution after only five members voted in favour of its previous text on October 16. 

(With inputs from agencies)