China, Russia block UN action on Sudan

China, backed by Russia, blocked a bid at the UN Security Council on Tuesday to condemn the killing of civilians in Sudan and issue a pressing call from world powers for an immediate haltto the violence, diplomats said. During a closed-door council meeting, Britain and Germany circulated a press statement that would have called on Sudan’s military rulers and protesters to “continue working together towards a consensual solution to the current crisis,” according to the draft seen by AFP.

But China firmly objected to the proposed text while Russia insisted that the council should await a response from the African Union, diplomats said. Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said the proposed statement was “unbalanced” and stressed the need to be “very cautious in this situation.”

“We don’t want to promote an unbalanced statement. It could just spoil the situation,” Polyanskiy told reporters after the two-hour meeting. Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, The Netherlands and Sweden said the military council’s “unilateral announcement to cease negotiations, appoint a government and call for elections within a too short period of time is of great concern.”

“We call for an agreed transfer of power to a civilian-led government as demanded by the people of Sudan,” said the European statement.