Angry with America, Saudi Arabia rejects UN security council seat
Angry with America, Saudi Arabia rejects UN security council seat
audi Arabia on Friday renounced a rotating UN security council seatthat was there for the taking, evidently miffed with its long-time patron United States' overtures to Iran, among other peeves.
The unexpected Saudi rejection came just hours after the kingdom was elected unopposed on Thursday night as one of the council's 10nonpermanent members. The two-year stint is prized by member countries because it gives them a temporary seat alongside the five permanent members, albeit without veto power.
The five rotating seats that opened up this year were uncontested, leaving Saudi Arabia, Chad, Nigeria, Lithuania and Chile to replace retiring members Pakistan Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, and Togo.
But in a sudden twist, Riyadh, apparently piqued with Washington over developments in the Middle East, lamented that the international community had failed in its duty towards Syria, where the Saudis have backed the largely Sunni rebels against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Saying the UN "allowed the Syrian regime to kill people" and use chemical weapons in front of "the entire world without facing any penalties," Riyadh said it was regretfully declining the UN seat.
"The kingdom sees that the method and work mechanism and the double standards in the security council prevent it from properly shouldering its responsibilities towards world peace," the country's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA, calling for unspecified reforms.
There were other Saudi gripes beyond the Syria "let-down," notably the US rapproachment with Iran, which reportedly led to the Saudi leadership ditching a scheduled speech at the UN general assembly last month. The largely Sunni Saudi Arabia is locked in a bitter feud with the mostly Shia Iran. It feels betrayed by Washington's recent advances with Teheran, whose nuclear program it views as a threat, although its own client state Pakistan is said to give the Saudis military and nuclear cover.
The unexpected Saudi rejection came just hours after the kingdom was elected unopposed on Thursday night as one of the council's 10nonpermanent members. The two-year stint is prized by member countries because it gives them a temporary seat alongside the five permanent members, albeit without veto power.
The five rotating seats that opened up this year were uncontested, leaving Saudi Arabia, Chad, Nigeria, Lithuania and Chile to replace retiring members Pakistan Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, and Togo.
But in a sudden twist, Riyadh, apparently piqued with Washington over developments in the Middle East, lamented that the international community had failed in its duty towards Syria, where the Saudis have backed the largely Sunni rebels against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Saying the UN "allowed the Syrian regime to kill people" and use chemical weapons in front of "the entire world without facing any penalties," Riyadh said it was regretfully declining the UN seat.
"The kingdom sees that the method and work mechanism and the double standards in the security council prevent it from properly shouldering its responsibilities towards world peace," the country's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA, calling for unspecified reforms.
There were other Saudi gripes beyond the Syria "let-down," notably the US rapproachment with Iran, which reportedly led to the Saudi leadership ditching a scheduled speech at the UN general assembly last month. The largely Sunni Saudi Arabia is locked in a bitter feud with the mostly Shia Iran. It feels betrayed by Washington's recent advances with Teheran, whose nuclear program it views as a threat, although its own client state Pakistan is said to give the Saudis military and nuclear cover.
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posted by Satish Sharma at
01:06
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