The U.N. Security Council once again stands forth as a shining example of impotence.
The U.N. Security Council postponed a meeting Tuesday on Iran’s suspect nuclear program as the West searched for new ways to break a deadlock with Russia and China over the best way to pressure Tehran, diplomats said.
The decision came after senior diplomats from the five veto-wielding members of the council and Germany made little headway on bridging their differences during a 4 1/2-hour meeting Monday evening. Diplomats said Russia was the main holdout, with China following behind.
That deadlock has forced Britain, France and Germany — the European troika leading negotiations on Iran — to reopen the text of a statement that would be the first Security Council response. Diplomats will focus on bilateral talks to try to find an agreement, they said Tuesday.
“We’ll just keep working on it,” U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said.
The United States and its European allies want a statement reiterating demands by the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, that Iran suspend uranium enrichment, the process that can be used to generate nuclear power or make nuclear weapons.
Get that? The council cannot even make progress towards a statement. Is there any realistic hope for some action that could be considered resolute or decisive from this bunch on the Iranian nuclear hunt? I’m thinking not.