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Russia’s ambassador to the U.N., Vassily Nebenzia, left, watches as the ambassadors of Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States vote on a resolution at a Security Council meeting on Syria, April 14, 2018 (AP photo by Mary Altaffer).
ColumnGlobal
Why the Security Council Must Stop the Insult Diplomacy Over Syria

The United Nations Security Council needs some quiet time. The past week was the most fraught in the council’s recent history, as the U.S. and its friends went all-out to shame Russia over its Syrian ally’s use of chemical weapons in Douma. The Russians responded with a furious barrage of denials, accusing the Westerners of whipping up the controversy to justify a military response. The two sides met almost daily to berate each other in baroque terms, with U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley claiming the Russians’ hands were “covered in the blood of Syrian children.” By the end of the week, […]

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia holds up a copy of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” as he speaks during a Security Council meeting, New York, April 5, 2018 (AP photo by Mary Altaffer).
ColumnEurope
The Diplomatic Logic Behind the Comical U.N. Salisbury Debate

If you wanted to see some quirky improvisational comedy in New York last week, the United Nations was the place to be. On Thursday, Russia requested a public Security Council meeting to rebut charges that it was responsible for the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the British town of Salisbury. This was the second time that the council has discussed the attempted murder of the Russian double-agent and his daughter using a sophisticated nerve agent, Novichok. Britain called the first of these meetings in March as part of a well-coordinated campaign to put Russia on the defensive, […]