U.S. says Russia 'failed' to thwart UN Security Council action

Russia "failed" to prevent the vital work of the UN Security Council in the past month despite its best efforts, the U.S. said Thursday as it concluded its Council presidency.

"They did their best. They failed. We had an extraordinarily successful month," Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who served as Council president for the month of August, told reporters at the UN' New York headquarters.

"They, as many of you saw, tried to obstruct the work of the Council. They are isolated in their obstruction. And it is not the kind of behavior that any of us would expect from a Permanent Member of the Security Council," added Thomas-Greenfield.

Relations between the U.S. and Russia have deteriorated dramatically following the Kremlin's war on Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

In addition, the superpowers have found themselves on opposite sides of several major global issues, including North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear development, and successive coups in Africa.

Asked if the Security Council could take additional steps to renew sanctions on Mali after Russia vetoed their extension Wednesday, Thomas-Greenfield said, "Ask the Russians and see what they have to say."

"They have indicated no. Certainly, we will never give up on trying to find a way, a path forward to be supportive of peace in Mali," she said.

Thomas-Greenfield said the U.S. was "disappointed" by the Council's failure to renew the sanctions, which were imposed in 2017 to authorize economic penalties on individuals who undermine a 2015 peace deal, attack peacekeepers or aid such hostilities. The sanctions are set to expire Thursday.