BRUSSELS: French President Emmanuel Macron vowed on Friday to keep pressing for a Gaza ceasefire at the UN Security Council, moments after China and Russia vetoed a US-backed draft resolution.
“The Security Council must call for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian access,” Macron told reporters in Brussels, promising to resume work on an alternative French resolution “along with our US, European and Arab partners.”
The United States, Israel’s main ally, which has vetoed previous ceasefire calls, had put forward its own resolution.
For the first time the US supported “the imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire,” as well as condemning the October 7 attack by Hamas.
But Russia and China exercised their vetoes, while Algeria also voted against and Guyana abstained. The other 11 Security Council members voted in favor, including permanent members France and Britain.
Macron said he believed Paris was in a position to build a consensus — now that it could count on Washington’s backing.
“What’s important to note is that the United States has changed its position, and shown its will to defend, very clearly now, a ceasefire,” Macron said.
“For a long time, the Americans were reticent. That reticence is now gone. There is an alignment on the basis of our text,” Macron said.
France has been working on its proposal with Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and several other European countries, he said. He was hopeful its diplomatic outreach in the region “may persuade China and Russia not to use their veto.”
More than 1,160 people, mostly civilians, died on October 7 when militants infiltrated Israel in the country’s deadliest ever attack, according to Israeli official figures.
Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. Some 32,000 people, mostly civilians, have died, according to the Gaza health ministry, and the United Nations has warned of imminent famine in the territory.
France to keep pushing for Gaza ceasefire at UN: Macron
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France to keep pushing for Gaza ceasefire at UN: Macron
- “The Security Council must call for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian access,” Macron told reporters in Brussels
- Macron said he believed Paris was in a position to build a consensus — now that it could count on Washington’s backing
US will respond to Rwanda’s violation of peace pact, says Rubio
- Waltz told the Security Council meeting that the US “is deeply concerned and increasingly disappointed” by this resurgence of violence
WASHINGTON: Top US diplomat Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Rwanda had clearly violated the peace agreement it signed with the Democratic Republic of Congo in Washington last week and vowed unspecified “action” in response.
The Rwandan-backed M23 armed group advanced in eastern DRC and seized the key border city of Uvira, just days after the leaders signed the “Washington Accords” on Dec. 4.
“Rwanda’s actions in eastern DRC are a clear violation of the Washington Accords, and the US will take action to ensure promises made to the President are kept,” Secretary of State Rubio wrote on X.
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UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix warned the new offensive ‘has revived the specter of a regional conflagration with incalculable consequences.’
The capture of Uvira, along the border with Burundi, has raised fears that the conflict could escalate into a regional war.
As part of an offensive launched at the beginning of December in South Kivu province, the armed group’s takeover follows its earlier this year capture of Goma and Bukavu, other major cities in the DRC’s mineral-rich east.
On Friday, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz accused Rwanda of “leading the region toward more instability and toward war.”
“The Rwandan defense forces have provided materiel, logistics, and training support to M23 as well as fighting alongside M23 in DRC with roughly 5,000 to 7,000 troops,” not including possible reinforcements during the latest offensive, Waltz told the UN Security Council.
The Rwandan firepower has included surface-to-air missiles, drones, and artillery, he added.
Since taking up arms again in 2021, the M23 has seized swaths of territory, displacing tens of thousands and leading to a spiraling humanitarian crisis.
Earlier this month, UN experts said Rwanda’s army and the M23 had carried out summary executions and forced mass displacements of people in the region.
Waltz told the Security Council meeting that the US “is deeply concerned and increasingly disappointed” by this resurgence of violence.
The envoy denounced “the scale and sophistication” of Rwanda’s involvement in eastern DRC.
UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix warned the new offensive “has revived the specter of a regional conflagration with incalculable consequences.”
“Recent developments pose a serious risk of the progressive fragmentation of the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly its eastern part,” he said.
Burundi on Friday accused Rwanda of bombing its territory, and its ambassador, Zephyrin Maniratanga, told the council it “reserves the right to use self-defense.”
He warned that if the attacks continue, it would be extremely difficult to avoid an escalation between the two African countries.
“Rwanda is not waging war against the Republic of Burundi and has no intention of doing that,” Ambassador Martin Ngoga said.
Meanwhile, Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner criticized the Security Council for its “lack of action” and called for sanctions against Rwanda.
Despite a resolution adopted in February demanding the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and a ceasefire, “the situation is undeniable: another city has fallen, a parallel administration has consolidated itself, thousands more families have fled, and others have been killed, raped, and terrorized,” she said.
