'Gaza genocide' erupts into war of words between US and Russia at UN; WATCH fiery exchange
By Shweta Kumari | First Published Aug 30, 2024, 6:13 PM ISTThe US and Russian Missions to the United Nations engaged in a heated exchange at the UN Security Council meeting over Gaza ceasefire.
In a dramatic display of diplomatic discord, the United States and Russian missions to the United Nations engaged in a fiery debate over Gaza ceasefire at the UN Security Council meeting on Thursday. The exchange, sparked by discussions on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, saw American and Russian envoys entangled in a fierce dispute over their respective nations' efforts to mediate or resolve the conflict.
The confrontation unfolded as Deputy UN Ambassadors Robert Wood of the United States and Dmitry Polyanskiy of Russia squared off over the efficacy of their countries' initiatives aimed at ceasing the hostilities between Israel and Hamas. The debate grew particularly intense as Polyanskiy voiced grave concerns about the recent assault on a World Food Programme (WFP) vehicle by the Israeli military.
First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Polyansky - at a meeting of the Security Council on the Middle East:
I would like to tell my esteemed American colleague to keep his recommendations to me and my government to himself and finally do what the US should do… pic.twitter.com/dBXqHPsvjk
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Polyanskiy lamented the "deteriorating" conditions in the West Bank and urged the international community to press Israel to cease attacks on humanitarian aid workers and launch a thorough investigation into these incidents. He criticized the US for its past vetoes of resolutions calling for a ceasefire, asserting, "It was the US desire to monopolize the Middle East peace process and to reshape it to reflect a template beneficial to Israel. That is specifically what resulted in the tragic events which we are all presently bearing witness to."
In response, US Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Robert Wood vehemently countered, accusing Russia of contributing nothing toward resolving the Gaza crisis. He dismissed Polyanskiy's claims as baseless and accused Russia of deflecting blame. "We have become accustomed to the US in all incidents trying to place all blame on others to shift the blame," Polyanskiy retorted, condemning US cease-fire negotiations as "completely fruitless" and lamenting the "thousands of Palestinians killed" due to perceived delays.
"We are alarmed by yesterday's (Wednesday) reports that the IDF fired repeatedly on a WFP vehicle," Robert Wood said during a session at the Council.
Informing the Council that Israel has told the US that "it is investigating this most recent incident, which their initial review has said was a result of a communication error between IDF units," Wood said the US urged Israel "to immediately rectify the issues within their system that allowed this to happen."
Israel told the US that an initial review found that shots were fired at a World Food Programme (WFP) vehicle in the Gaza Strip after a “communication error” between Israeli military units, the deputy US envoy to the UN, Robert Wood says.
Read more: https://t.co/fyIiLtsBiT pic.twitter.com/H5SooAOgAS
Wood's rebuttal was no less sharp, insisting that the US has made greater efforts than Russia to alleviate the Gaza crisis. He provocatively advised, "My recommendation to you and your government would be, if you're going to contribute something positively, then contribute it. If not, you should be quiet."
As the UN Security Council session concluded, it was clear that the clash between the US and Russian envoys underscored the deep-seated divisions and competing narratives that continue to shape international diplomacy in the ongoing Gaza conflict.
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