Key Takeaways
- The UNSC may vote on a second resolution on Gaza ceasefire on Friday, if the US draft is not adopted.
- The US draft resolution does not directly call for a ceasefire, but instead identifies the urgent need for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire.
- Russia is not satisfied with the current wording of the US draft and prefers a direct call for a ceasefire.
United Nations: Another vote on a draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza by the UN Security Council could happen on Friday, if the American draft is not adopted, French Ambassador to the UN Nicolas de Riviere told reporters.
At the moment, there are two draft resolutions in the UN Security Council – one from the US and one from the ten non-permanent members of the Security Council.
The draft from the non-permanent members of the Security Council “demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan, respected by all parties, which would lead to a permanent ceasefire.”
Meanwhile, the US document does not contain a direct demand for a ceasefire. It said the Security Council “identifies the urgent need for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire… and unequivocally supports ongoing international diplomatic efforts to achieve such a ceasefire in conjunction with the release of the remaining hostages.”
“We will probably vote tomorrow morning on the US draft. And then there are two options – either the American text is adopted. If the text is not adopted, then the draft of elected members will be put to a vote, and I hope it will be adopted,” de Riviere said.
Following the French ambassador’s remarks, the first deputy permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, made it clear to journalists that Russia was not satisfied with the current wording of the American project.
“We will not be satisfied with any language that does not call for an immediate ceasefire. Nobody is satisfied with that. ‘Identifies urgent need’ is not a call for an immediate ceasefire,” he said.
Earlier, Blinken, during a visit to Saudi Arabia, said that the US draft resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire related to the release of the hostages. Polyansky noted that Russia would prefer wording that the Security Council demands a ceasefire, or at least calls for one.
