The United Nations Security Council will be “unified” on Monday “in calling for the Russians to explain themselves,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told ABC’s “This Week.”
Why it matters: The meeting, called by the United States and which is expected to be broadcast live on Monday, will be “one more opportunity to find a diplomatic way out for the Russians,” the ambassador said.
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The U.S. and its allies have continued pushing for diplomatic resolutions to Russia’s military buildup along its border with Ukraine, even as they have accelerated warnings that a Russian invasion could be imminent.
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Russia, one of five permanent members along with the United States of the 15-member body, decried the meeting. But although the Kremlin has the authority to veto UNSC decisions, a nine-vote majority is necessary to block scheduled meetings.
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“I can’t recall another occasion when a SC member proposed to discuss its own baseless allegations and assumptions as a threat to intl order from someone else,” Dmitry Polyanskiy, the Kremlin’s deputy permanent representative at the United Nations, wrote on Twitter. “Hopefully fellow UNSC members will not support this clear PR stunt shameful for the reputation of UN Security Council.”
Driving the news: “We’re going to go in the room prepared to listen to them, but we’re not going to be distracted by their propaganda and we’re going to be prepared to respond to any disinformation that they attempt to spread during this meeting,” said Thomas-Greenfield, a career diplomat.
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Asked by host George Stephanopoulos to respond to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s push back against Western warnings of an “imminent” invasion, Thomas-Greenfield reiterated the U.S. support for Ukraine and noted that the government in Kyiv asked for the meeting in a letter to the UNSC.
Go deeper: Pentagon spox: U.S. considering Russian sanctions “the likes of which we haven’t done before”
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