[R-G] US Withdraws Mideast Resolution at UN

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Fascinating. -- Yoshie

<http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/un_mideast>
US withdraws Mideast resolution at UN

By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press WriterFri Nov 30, 4:46 PM ET

In an about face, the United States on Friday withdrew a U.N.
resolution endorsing this week's agreement by Israeli and Palestinian
leaders to try to reach a Mideast peace settlement by the end of 2008,
apparently after Israel objected.

U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff informed the Security Council
that the United States was pulling the resolution from consideration
less than 24 hours after U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad introduced
it.

Khalilzad had said he needed to consult with the Israelis and
Palestinians on the text of the resolution to ensure that it was what
they wanted following the decisions by Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the Mideast peace
conference in Annapolis, Md.

Wolff said the U.S. had held intensive consultations in the past few
days "and the upshot was that there were some unease with the idea" of
a resolution.

Diplomats said Israel, a close U.S. ally, did not want a resolution,
which would bring the Security Council into the fledgling negotiations
with the Palestinians. The diplomats, speaking on condition of
anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Khalilzad
introduced the draft resolution without getting broad support from the
Israelis, Palestinians and the Bush administration.

"It's not the proper venue," Israel's deputy ambassador Daniel Carmon
said after Friday's council meeting. "We feel that the appreciation of
Annapolis has other means of being expressed than in a resolution.

"We were not the only ones to object," Carmon said.

He added that the Americans had told the Israelis that the
Palestinians also objected.

Abbas, speaking to reporters in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, said
Friday that while he didn't know the details of the draft resolution
it was a sign of the seriousness of the United States, which he also
perceived at the Annapolis conference.

"This means, if what we have learned is verified, that there are
serious steps that speak to the existence of an American position
supporting the negotiations," Abbas said.

Wolff said the United States realized that "the focus, we all realized
again, should be placed and remain on Annapolis and the understanding
that was reached there."

"It's a momentous decision ... and rather than dilute from that and in
respect to both parties in terms of what they thought would be most
helpful, we reached a conclusion that it would be best to withdraw
it," Wolff said.

Normally, the United States would have consulted Israel in advance of
introducing a Security Council resolution, as well as the
Palestinians, to gauge their reaction.

But on Thursday, Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman said he knew "very
little" about the proposed resolution, adding "we will be discussing
it, and no doubt in very good spirit."

The State Department said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had
decided such a resolution was unnecessary.

"We have looked at this and, at the end of the day, the secretary
believes that the positive results of Annapolis speak for themselves
and there is really no reason to gild the lily," spokesman Sean
McCormack said. "I am not sure that we saw the need to add anything
else to the conversation. Sometimes, the results and the event speak
for themselves."

Two U.S. officials, who on condition of anonymity described Rice's
decision to withdraw the draft document, said there were several
concerns about the resolution, including the failure to consult the
Israelis and Palestinians on the language and the possibility that
some on the Security Council might try to add anti-Israeli language to
it.

Ambassador Nassir Al-Nasser of Qatar, the only Arab member on the
Security Council, said Thursday "we are happy with the language as it
is" in the U.S. draft resolution. "I am happy that the council is
dealing with this issue," he said. "For me, this is the main thing."

The Annapolis conference drew 44 nations, including Israel's
neighboring Arab states. A joint understanding between the Israelis
and Palestinians, in doubt until the last minute, was salvaged and
Abbas and Olmert reiterated their desire to reach a peace settlement
by the end of 2008.

Indonesian Ambassador Marty Natalegawa, the current council president
who had hoped the resolution would be adopted Friday, said he wanted
to highlight the strong support in the council for the Annapolis
conference. Council members were "welcoming, supporting and
encouraging the parties to diligently follow up," he said.

"We are more focused at this time on the substance, that there is an
absolutely clear message of council unity in supporting Annapolis
conference and its achievements," he said.

Deputy Ambassador Konstantin Dolgov of Russia said it was the U.S.
right as the sponsor to withdraw the resolution.

"What is important is that discussions showed that there is a lot of
support for the outcome," he said. "We think that it would be
important, of course, for the Security Council to express itself on
this issue because the discussions showed that all Security Council
members supported the outcome of Annapolis meeting."

___

Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report

--
Yoshie
<http://montages.blogspot.com/>