UN: Cautious criticism from NATO countries

TT

Published 22.01

 

The extraordinary meeting of the Security Council was held at the request of Venezuela. In the picture is the country's UN ambassador Samuel Moncada. Photo: Frank Franklin Ii/AP/TT

The NATO countries Denmark and France came with veiled criticism of the United States when the UN Security Council met due to the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The extraordinary meeting in New York on Monday was held due to a request from Venezuela.

After the capture of Maduro, US President Donald Trump has, among other things, hinted at intervening militarily in Colombia and once again said that the US needs Greenland.

- The inviolability of borders is not subject to negotiation, said Christina Markus Lassen, Denmark's UN ambassador, without mentioning the United States by name.

She also said that “no state should seek to influence political outcomes in Venezuela through threats of violence or other means incompatible with international law.”

Jay Dharmadhikari, France’s deputy UN ambassador, said that any violations of international law by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council undermine “the very foundations of the international order.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement that he was deeply concerned that the rules of international law had not been respected in the military intervention on January 3.

The US defended the operation by saying it was targeting an “illegitimate narco-terrorist.” Maduro’s re-election in 2024 is up for debate.