Saudi Arabia on Friday rejected its freshly-acquired
seat on the U.N. Security Council, saying the 15-member body is incapable of
resolving world conflicts such as the Syrian civil war.
The move came just hours after the kingdom was
elected as one of the Council's 10 non permanent members on Thursday night. It
also followed another gesture of displeasure from the kingdom in which Saudi
Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal (below) declined to address the General Assembly
meeting last month.
The Saudi discontent stems from its frustration with
longtime ally United States. The two are at odds over a number of Mideast
issues, including how Washington has handled some of the region's crises,
particularly in Egypt and Syria.
It also comes as ties between the U.S. and
Iran, the Saudi's regional foe, appear to be improving following a recent
telephone conversation between President Barack Obama and Iran's new president,
Hassan Rouhani.
In a statement carried by the official Saudi Press
Agency, the Foreign Ministry said Friday the Security Council has failed in its
duties toward Syria.
It said this has enabled Syrian President Bashar
Assad's regime to perpetrate the killings of its people, including with
chemical weapons, without facing any punishment. The Syrian regime denies it
has used chemical weapons in the war.
The kingdom, which has backed the Syrian rebels in
their struggle to topple Assad, has often criticized the international
community for failing to halt Syria's civil war, now in its third year.
According to U.N. figures, the conflict has so far killed over 100,000 people.
Saudi Arabia is also frustrated that the U.S. backed
away from launching punitive strikes against Assad's forces after Damascus
agreed to allow inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons and the United Nations to destroy its chemical weapons
arsenal.
The kingdom easily won the Security Council seat in
a vote in New York on Thursday, facing no opposition because there were no
contested races for the first time in several years.
The Council seats are
highly coveted because they give countries a strong voice in matters dealing
with international peace and security, in places like Syria, Iran and North
Korea, as well as the U.N.'s far-flung peacekeeping operations.
The 15-member council includes five permanent
members with veto power — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — and 10
non permanent members elected for two-year terms. Read more…
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