US and Russia have squared off at the UN Security Council, where Moscow lost an attempt to block a public meeting on its troop build-up near Ukraine’s borders and Western fears of an invasion.
US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield dismissed a charge by Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia that Washington was trying “to whip up hysterics” and use “megaphone diplomacy” by calling the first Security Council meeting on the crisis.
“Imagine how uncomfortable you would be if you had 100,000 troops on your border,” Ms Thomas-Greenfield said.
The vote on holding an open meeting passed 10-2, with Russia and China opposed, and three abstentions
US President Joe Biden said in a statement that the meeting was “a critical step in rallying the world to speak out in one voice” to reject the use of force, seek military de-escalation, support diplomacy and demand accountability from every member “to refrain from military aggression against its neighbors.”
