UNITED NATIONS, March 21 -- Outside the UN Security Council on Monday afternoon, a Western Council member's spokesman was telling reporters that as he had predicted, the Council had declined requests for any meeting about the military action in Libya until Thursday.
Russia's Ambassador Vitaly Churkin came out of the Council chamber and apparently heard this. He stopped on the steps up to street level, turned back and said, “I must say to that young man, the President of the Council is supposed to brief the media.”
He pointed at the Western spokesman and asked, “You are from which delegation?”
The Western spokesman answered. (Since these spokespeople say they are speaking on background, for now the answer is being withheld.)
Churkin continued, “Double check with your Ambassador. It's really impolite and rude. It's the President who is supposed to brief the media.”
After Churkin went upstairs, there was speculation about what had triggered the confrontation. On March 16, Churkin had complained about being portrayed as an obstructionist.
Inner City Press later on March 16 asked US Ambassador Susan Rice about what Churkin had said about Russia's ceasefire in Libya proposal. She said the proposal did not go far enough.
On March 21, Churkin came back. “Now we know where all the distortions come from.”
Inner City Press suggested to him that the Russian Mission's spokesman should brief the media more often.
While that seems to be the consensus among most of the stakeout press corps, others note that some delegation's spokespeople are more likely that others to tell reporters about other countries' positions, while demanding off the record treatment.
This happened during the first Council resolution on Libya earlier this year, when Portugal was accused off the record of being “weak” on the referral of the case of Libya to the International Criminal Court.
Later, reporters were urged to “ask Brazil” if they were making problems with the ICC referral. In fact they were, though not at the spinner had implied. Rather, Brazil objected to the US demanded carve out from the ICC referral for countries that are not members of the ICC: not only the US, but such countries as Algeria and Ethiopia, which are not members of the ICC.
“Now we know where all the distortions come from”? Oh that it were so. Watch this site.
