On
Syria,
P5 Convene to
Meet Ban, UK
Silent on
Draft, US
Power
Just Silent
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 30 --
On Syria, last
night Inner
City Press
reported
that the
Permanent Five
members of the
UN Security
Council would
meet
today at noon
with UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon. After
that was
confirmed by
the UN, this
morning, the
UN also said
that its
"Spokesperson's
Daily
Briefing"
would move
back to 12:30
pm.
Simultaneously
in
Washington at
12:30, or
after that as
usual, John
Kerry spoke,
calling France
"our oldest
ally." Will he
and Ban
Ki-moon
have the same
message? One
wag asked, do
they ever
really not?
Diplomats
from
non P-5
countries told
Inner City
Press of anger
of the
freeze-out of
the 10 elected
members of the
Council, and
others spoke
of rumblings
for a General
Assembly
resolution,
one adding
"that
would be too
slow for the
Americans."
In
the UN's lobby
the media
assembled to
catch the P5
entrances.
Russian
Deputy Pankin
was asked
about the
upcoming
meeting with
Ban. Ask him,
he replied.
UK
Permanent
Representative
Mark Lyall
Grant stopped
and said that
he
expected an
update on the
chemical
weapons
investigation
and on
Syria. He did
not answer a
question about
the UK draft
resolution,
which after
Cameron's loss
in parliament
seems doomed,
at least in
its current
form.
Most
interest was
reserved for
US Ambassador
Samantha
Power. Her
arrival
was filmed,
but she did
not answer any
of the
questions
asked or make
any statement,
as she did on
her first day
as UN
ambassador.
Nor,
colleagues
told Inner
City Press,
did Power
speak on the
way out,
saying that
John Kerry was
speaking.
Inner City
Press was up
in the
UN briefing -
which will be
our next
story. Watch
this site.
, 
