After
China Asks
Palestine
Briefing with
Syria, "Middle
East"
is Topic
Monday
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 9 --
China's proposal
that if Navi
Pillay briefs
on
Syria, she
should
briefing on
Palestine
as well hit
home in the
Security
Council Friday
afternoon.
An hour after
Inner City
Press
first
reported the
proposal,
Russian
Ambssador
Vitaly Churkin
emerged
to read a
short Council
statement. He
explained that
Pillay's
briefing
Monday at 3 pm
on "the Middle
East" is
understood
to include
Palestine as
well as Syria.
Inner
City Press
asked Churkin
if the
briefing would
be closed, and
if Pillay
would be
questioned
about
Palestine.
Churkin said
he expected
Pillay would
hear what he
was saying and
that, yes, the
briefing would
be closed.
He said with a
smile that at
one point
Russia
proposed the
briefing
be open, but
that those who
had initially
wanted it open
then decided
that it should
be closed.
(c) UN Photo
Churkin &
China's Li
Baodong,
Palestine
"expected"
Monday
After
Churkin was
about Russia's
resistance to
a briefing of
Syria -- he
replied that
such
opposition had
been alleged
before Russia
said anything
-- Inner
City Press
asked if the
breakdown in
the Council
opposing
Pillay
briefing on
Palestine was
the same as
those not
supporting
Palestinian
membership in
the UN.
Churkin
said there
is "overlap,"
but didn't
want to get
into the vote
or
position
breakdown.
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