At UN on Cote D'Ivoire, Russia Remains Firm, Sends "Note Taker," Test for Rice?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 8, updated -- On Cote d'Ivoire, after Security Council president Susan Rice and Russian Deputy Permanent Representative Konstantin Dolgov debated for five hours on Tuesday, on Wednesday Russia sent a much lower ranked official to the Council's consultations, described as a Second Secretary.

“The Russians don't have any new instructions,” Inner City Press was told by the Ambassador of a Permanent Five member, whose Mission gushed angrily that “the African members are begging Russia to agree, if Gbagbo doesn't leave there could be violence.”

Whether a belated Press Statement by the UN Security Council would be the determinant in Laurent “le Boulanger” Gbagbo leaving is dubious. But Russia's unmoved position is noteworthy.

Recently China was similarly unmovable on North Korea, stating upfront that it would not agree to the word “condemn” in any statement about the shelling of the Korean island. But, a Western diplomat compared, at least China saved everybody's time. “Dolgov liked to debate,” the diplomat said. “And Susan Rice took the bait.”

Across First Avenue in the US Mission on Tuesday, State Department spokesman PJ Crowley bragged to foreign correspondents about what the US was accomplishing in the Security Council about Cote d'Ivoire. But what is being accomplished? Watch this site.

Footnotes: Inner City Press has also learned that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon took part in an emergency meeting with the UN Deparment of Safety & Security on December 4 about UNOIC and his close ally, Choi Young-jin. The range of telephone calls Ban may have made to buttress Choi's position is not yet known.

Also, the US Mission has still not answer questions put to it last week and on Tuesday about murder and bombings in Sudan, including a call by the SPLM for a Security Council investigation...

Update of 12:53 p.m. -- the Russian diplomat characterized by her Western Security Council counterparties as a “note taker” is in fact an “expert,” for example on Guinea-Bissau. At Wednesday's noon briefing, Inner City Press asked UN Secretariat spokesman Martin Nesirky if the lack of any correction below Council President Rice's final statement in Tuesday's open meeting meant that the Secretariat had denied Russia's request. Ask the Americans, Nesirky again said, then after being pressed added that he will see if Security Council Affairs has any more to say. Watch this site.

At UN, US' Rice Accuses Russia of Quibbling on Cote d'Ivoire, Claims Neutrality

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 7 -- US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice on Tuesday accused Russia of “quibbling with resolutions” on Cote d'Ivoire which it had voted for, and responded to Russia's demand for a “correction” of her statement that the presence in the Security Council of diplomats selected by Laurent Gbagbo did not “endorse or refute the results of the election” which the Electoral Commission and UN envoy Y.J. Choi say Gbagbo lost.

Russian Deputy Permanent Representative Konstantin Dolgov earlier told Inner City Press that Rice had not been authorized by his country, and therefore not by the Council, to speak on the legitimacy of the Cote d'Ivoire diplomats in the Council, characterizing Rice's as a political and not a legal statement.

Inner City Press asked Rice to respond, as she entered the Council for continued consultation on Cote d'Ivoire and the recent ECOWAS statement (and decision to suspend Cote d'Ivoire from the group.) Rice first said, “You heard from Russia, they can speak for themselves.” After being Pressed, Rice continued that “What I said was completely neutral and non judgmental.

“It was to preserve the neutrality of the Council,” she said, “so it wasn't construed one way or the other as endorsing or refuting the elections results.. simply to keep us clean on that point.”

Of Dolgov, Rice said “He is free to object in his national capacity and make a point of order. No one else did. I think it was a plain statement of what is right.”

Thought: It was an indirect and procedural way of asserting the position that Laurent Gbagbo is no longer the legitimate head of state of Cote d'Ivoire. One can understand why Russia would object -- calling it a "political rather than a legal statement" -- while understanding why Rice would make such a point “for the record” or “to keep us clean on that point.”

Will the record in fact be corrected in some way, as Russia requested? Dolgov told Inner City Press he was checking with Russia's lawyers. Watch this site.

Footnote: what is not known is why Rice and the US Mission have not spoken out or called for a Council meeting about first the 10 SPLM soldiers killed last week -- Inner City Press' request for comment remains unresponded to -- and now the SPLM's call for a Security Council investigation into Khartoum's continued bombing of Western Bahr al Ghazal State. Watch this site.

On Cote d'Ivoire, Russia Chides Ban's Choi, Reiterates that Susan Rice Should be Corrected, Has AU Not ECOWAS Focus

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 7 -- On Cote d'Ivoire, “Mr. Choi went beyond his mandate,” Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative Konstantin Dolgov told the Press on Tuesday.

He said the UN was to certify results, not name a winner. Dolgov said that in closed door consultations, appearing by video from the ECOWAS meeting in Abuja, Mr. Choi acknowledged as much.

Some wonder if Russia's open critique of Choi Young-jin, a close ally of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, might have some bearing on Russia's needed support for a second term as S-G for Mr. Ban.

Inner City Press asked Dolgov about Russia's objection, first reported by Inner City Press, to US Ambassador Susan Rice's statement in the open meeting that the presence in the chamber of Cote d'Ivoire diplomats named by Laurent Gbagbo did not imply that they were legitimate representatives of their country.

Dolgov confirmed that Russia has asked for a correction of Ambassador Rice's statement. Inner City Press told Dolgov that the US Mission told it that no correction was needed, even that no procedure exists for such a correction.

“We will check with our lawyers,” Dolgov said, calling a correction “necessary.”

The Council suspended its meeting at 1pm on Tuesday, to be picked up at 3 to consider the ECOWAS statement. Dolgov when asked by Inner City Press mentioned a forthcoming African Union meeting, to which Thabo Mbeki will report. Another African diplomat corrected Inner City Press when it called ECOWAS a regional organization. “A SUB regional organization,” he said with a smile. Watch this site.

At Iran's Council Dinner, Two No-Shows, Show and Tell on Enrichment, Russia "Satisfied"

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/iran1dinner050710.html

UNITED NATIONS, May 7, updated -- The UN Security Council's dinner with Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki on Thursday night featured "excellent cuisine," Russian attendee Dolgov told the Press on Friday morning, "I am satisfied." Several Council members, however, either left early (Mexico), came late (Uganda), or didn't come at all (Nigeria and Gabon).

Of the Permanent Five members of the Council, China's Li Baodong was the only Permanent Representative to attend. It was argued, not by Mr. Dolgov, that Russia's P.R. Vitaly Churkin might have attended, but for a dinner with World War Two generals.

Friday morning in front of the Security Council's new basement chambers, Nigeria's absence was excused as part of mourning the President's death. Gabon's Ambassador, who arrived at 10:15 for Friday's Council session on the UN's embattled Chad mission MINURCAT, told Inner City Press, "I'm late, I'll talk with you after" the meeting. France's attendee de la Riviere declined to comment on the dinner conversation.

Inner City Press spoke with one Permanent Representative who attended and who said that the Iranians described the various offers they have made about uranium, but showed "little change of position" on enrichment.

Mexican Ambassador Claude Heller, recently returned from a Somalia sanctions trip to spots from Asmara to Yemen, left the dinner after 15 minutes. (It is pointed out that he arrived early and "had a little chat.") Uganda's Ambassador Rugunda, who spoke earlier on Thursday to a group of UN Ambassador's spouses, arrived an hour into the dinner.

Much was made of the presence of U.S. deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff. Some said he was the highest ranking US official to attend such an Iranian event in the US in 32 years. When he left the dinner, from the reporters staked out on the sidewalk came a mock wolf howl, to try to get a readout. Still none was forthcoming.

Japan's Ambassador Takasu, who alone spoke with the media after the dinner, was chided Friday for having spoken only in Japanese, to Japanese media. "I saw only Japanese there," Takasu said as he went into the Council Friday morning. We will interpret this as a too-rare joke.

While as Inner City Press predicted Thursday afternoon, the UK sent neither of its two top officials. Deputy Parham, attending the retirement party of a long time human rights advocate on Thursday evening, was asked if this reflected the UK prioritizing human rights over non-proliferation. He affably declined to comment.

The UK Mission to the UN is "in purdah," apparently not allowed to speak to the press until there is a government and foreign ministry machinery in place. "Hopefully by the end of the NPT," it was said. So how will they vote on the Chad MINURCAT mission extension, which must be done by May 15? Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/iran1dinner050710.html

As Press Pushed from UN Council, Protests to Ban, "Tear Down This Wall!"

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/sc4unreform040610.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 6, updated -- "Mr. Ban, tear down this wall!" A long time UN correspondent said this Tuesday morning, loudly, in protest of the press corps being pushed away from the Security Council's new location in the UN basement. On Monday, Inner City Press was informed that in a closed Council consultation, a proposal was made to push non-Council member states out into the hallway, and push journalists even further back.

Following questions posed to UN Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe at Monday's noon briefing, then to April's Council president Yukio Takasu of Japan, the UN Correspondents Association put together a letter of protest, to be handed alongside Tuesday Council meeting on Iraq to President Takasu and the Ambassadors of the Permanent Five members of the Council.

But with the press corps penned in far back from the stairs, even the letters of protest could not be handed to Ambassadors as they entered. U.S. Ambassador Rice strode in. Even as reporters called out, "We have a letter for you," she smiled bemused and continued into the Council chamber. Later a spokesman accepted the letter.

UK Deputy Permanent Representative Parham came over and took the letter himself. Russia's Dolgov accept it, asking, "Is it in Russian?" Long after the meeting began, Council President Takasu had still not been served. Nor had the Chinese mission. This job was left to Inner City Press.

Update of 2 p.m. -- Inner City Press gave the letter to President Takasu, when he came to speak to the Press after consultations on Iraq, Guinea Bissau, the DRC and Somali piracy. After the issue was raised to other non-Permanent Council members like Brazil and Uganda, it was said that Ambassador Takasu as President raised it as a "housekeeping" matter.

At the stakeout, he said again therre should be equivalent access. Inner City Press asked President Takasu, and before him UN Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe, about even UN Peacekeeping staffers being now excluded from the Council consultation room. Ms. Okabe conceded that such presence had been "useful." Ambassador Takasu did not ask that question when asked, reverting to the Press question, saying further consultations will be had. Only at the UN. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/sc4unreform040610.html