Rejected Seat on U.N. Panel Is Considered by Jordan
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Version 0 of 1. UNITED NATIONS — Jordan is considering seeking the nonpermanent United Nations Security Council seat that Saudi Arabia rejected last month in a pique of anger at the United States, diplomats said Thursday. The diplomats, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Jordan’s United Nations ambassador, Prince Zeid al-Hussein, was en route to Amman on Thursday night to confer with the country’s top officials about possibly replacing Saudi Arabia on the 15-member Council — the most powerful and prestigious body in the United Nations. “There are internal discussions taking place” among Arab states about who might replace the Saudis, one diplomat said. The Saudis have yet to officially notify Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in writing that they have declined membership. It was unclear whether countries may have to compete for the seat, which was abruptly rejected by Saudi Arabia on Oct. 18, an action that stunned the United Nations and even some Saudi diplomats. The seat was one of five that had to be filled for two-year terms starting in January. The Saudis had been elected a day earlier, along with Chad, Chile, Lithuania and Nigeria. It was the first time that any country had rejected one of the 10 nonpermanent Council seats. The five permanent seats are held by Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States. The Saudi decision, which could only have been ordered by King Abdullah, reflected his unhappiness over American policy in the Middle East, most notably the embrace of diplomacy in the Syrian conflict and the move toward rapprochement with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s rival. King Abdullah also was said to be upset over American criticism of the Egyptian military takeover in July that toppled Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist who was that country’s first freely elected president; and with faltering American efforts to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Saudi Arabia on Monday, seeking to assure the king that the Obama administration and the Saudis shared common objectives in the Middle East. |