By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, March 27, updated -- After Thabo Mbeki and Abdulsalami Abubakar had a closed door interactive session with the UN Security Council about the Sudans on Wednesday morning, again no outcome was agreed to.
The day after Sudan and South Sudan signed their Implementation Matrix, Russia proposed a short press statement of praise.
The US wanted something longer including criticism, for example on Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, or their long-pending draft Presidential Statement. Sudan's bragging, reported that morning by Inner City Press, was cited in the Council. In pique, there was no statement.
And now, again, no statement. Inner City Press asked Russia's Vitaly Churkin if that meant the US draft PRST was still pending. Video here from Minute 5:49.
Churkin scoffed, and mentioned that under the current dynamic nothing would be possible to be adopted on Sudan -- or on Darfur, he said, a reference to the pending UK-drafted Presidential Statement.
Update: Mark Lyall Grant of the UK later confirmed to Inner City Press that the Darfur PRST "is being blocked."
Another Western source, insisting on anonymity, countered that it was Churkin who “blew up the press elements” by saying Russia wouldn't agree to anything that didn't include a lifting of sanction and debt relief. Could this be hyperbole?
While we'll wait for Russia's response on this -- and will publish it -- a senior UN official complained, it's hard to work for this Council, they won't offer praise even when you get something accomplished.
That doesn't seem to apply to Romano Prodi in Mali, who has accomplished little but still gets praised. Is there a double standard? Watch this site.
