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Europe at Odds as US, China Fight Over Pandemic at UN

Agence France-Presse

   UNITED NATIONS - The clash between China and the United States over
   COVID-19 has caused a rift between European nations at the U.N.
   Security Council over a call for cease-fires in some conflict zones
   during the pandemic.

   For two months, France has been trying to corral Washington and Beijing
   into a compromise on the resolution, which would urge a halt to
   fighting in countries like Afghanistan and Yemen as they struggle to
   cope with COVID-19.

   France and Tunisia had teamed up to draft the resolution.

   But on Tuesday, Germany and Estonia threw their hats in the ring with a
   competing resolution -- one they did not coordinate with France, and
   which includes language that would placate the administration of U.S.
   President Donald Trump.

   The same day, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by telephone
   with Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu, with the State
   Department saying they "discussed cooperative efforts" at the Security
   Council.

   'Clean up the mess'

   "Everybody knows who is behind the new draft," quipped one diplomat
   under condition of anonymity.

   "Estonia and Germany are just trying to clean up the mess the U.S. has
   created," said Richard Gowan, who follows the United Nations for the
   International Crisis Group, which studies conflict resolution.

   At the heart of the dispute is Trump's offensive against the World
   Health Organization, from which he has vowed to cut all U.S. funding.

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