Russia says US, Bahrain should withdraw UN resolution on Iran’s actions in Hormuz Strait

(Al Jazeera) -  Moscow is urging the US and Bahrain to withdraw a draft resolution in the UN Security Council that calls on Iran to end its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov told the Izvestia daily news outlet that Moscow “cannot support” the resolution, which is also backed by Gulf states.

“We now call on the co-authors of the US-Bahraini draft to withdraw it and not rush decisions on it, as we don’t yet see any potential for this document,” Alimov said.

A draft resolution from Russia and China on the strait, he added, instead “calls for the parties to end the war, refrain from the use of force, and resolve differences at the negotiating table”.

The UN’s own news service says the US-Bahrain resolution has been backed by Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Unlike Russia, which has veto power over resolutions, none of the Gulf states are permanent UNSC members.