Biden Plans U.N. Showdown if Russia Invades Ukraine
"The Biden administration is planning for a high-profile public showdown with Russia at the United Nations Security Council if Moscow intervenes in Ukraine. There is little concrete the United States can do at the U.N. to compel Russia, which wields veto power in the Security Council, to stand down in Ukraine. But the Security Council, with its iconic horseshoe-shaped table and seats reserved for the world’s big powers, has provided a visually powerful set piece for some of modern history’s most dramatic geopolitical confrontations, from the Cuban missile crisis to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
The Biden administration wants to take advantage of that to highlight Russia’s diplomatic isolation and, if possible, to place a wedge between Russia and its most powerful ally, China, which has been one of the council’s proponents of defending the territorial sovereignty of U.N. member states.
The effort would present U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield with a major test of her debating skills, as she will go head to head with Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia. The United States has already been briefing key allies in Europe and in the U.N. Security Council on Russian military activities, and preparing for a potential public standoff, according to a senior U.S. official.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the confidential nature of U.S. diplomatic outreach, said Russia’s military threat strikes “at the heart of the U.N. Charter.”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/14/biden-un-security-council-russia-ukraine-invasion/?utm_source=PostUp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Editors%20Picks%20OC&utm_term=38656&tpcc=Editors%20Picks%20OC
= new reply since forum marked as read
