U.S. candidate for U.N. envoy to UN says plan to fight Russian and Chinese vetoes
Elise Stefanik, candidate for U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday, January 21, that she plans to fight the veto power that Russia and China have in the international organization's Security Council.
"It's a challenge that <...> we're going to face every day, having China and Russia have veto power in the Permanent Five [of Security Council participants]. That's the challenge that we're going to have to continue to fight," Stefanik said, her remarks broadcast on Fox News' YouTube channel.
For his part, Republican Senator Jim Risch, who chaired the meeting, indicated that U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee, who took office on January 20, could bring much-needed changes to the organization, and added that the U.S. as a whole should take a hard look at whether U.N. membership is of any benefit to American citizens.
Earlier on January 17, then-US President-elect Donald Trump had a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Republican called China and the United States the most important countries in the world, which should maintain a long-term friendship and work together on global defense. The Chinese leader, in turn, noted that this first conversation could be of great importance, and the whole world is watching the process of building relations between Washington and Beijing.
Later, on January 21, political scientist Alexander Asafov concluded in a conversation with Izvestia that Trump will try to put pressure on Russia in the context of the Ukrainian conflict. In particular, the new American president will take a tough negotiating position and will, while maintaining the typical tension, push it through.
CNN reported on January 20 that Trump instructed to organize his phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the next few days after the inauguration, reports "Gazeta.Ru". Commenting on this, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that preparations for such contacts are not yet underway.
On January 20, Trump took the oath of office in the rotunda of the Capitol, becoming the 47th President of the United States. In his speech, he declared the beginning of "America's golden age." This is the second presidential term of Trump, who was the American leader from 2017-2021. Along with him, Vice President Jay Dee Vance was sworn in.
