The UN Security Council has yet to schedule a vote on a draft resolution proposing sanctions on Zimbabwe, the council president said Thursday.
Vietnam's UN Ambassador Le Luong Minh, the 15-member body's president for July, told reporters that he has not received a request from the United States, who drafted the text, to convene a council meeting for such a vote.
Le said that there was a request to put to the vote on Wednesday, but the request was canceled.
He said that Vietnam and many other council members wanted to support the ongoing mediation efforts by the African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The United States circulated the draft resolution last week, urging the 15-member body to impose an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and freeze the asset of Mugabe and 11 other senior officials and restrict them from traveling abroad.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said Wednesday that the draft had been put in blue on Tuesday night and that the council may have a vote on it any time soon.
Russia, a veto-wielding council member, has questioned the legitimacy of such a move to be taken by the Security Council.
The UN Charter "does not empower the Security Council to interfere into the internal affairs of a state unless the situation there poses a threat to international peace and security," Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters Tuesday.
"There are serious questions in our mind if the situation in Zimbabwe can be characterized as a threat to international peace and security," Churkin said.
Source:Xinhua
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