Trump founded the controversial “Peace Council” at the end of January on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The US President is chairman for life, decides on invitations to participate and has the right to veto all votes. A total of 19 countries signed the founding charter. Neither Germany, France nor Great Britain joined, citing possible competition with the UN.
USA apparently refuses Russian diplomat a visa for the UN
The USA has apparently refused entry to a high-ranking Russian diplomat. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov did not receive a visa to take part in an open debate at the UN Security Council, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said on Tuesday.
Alimov was invited to the meeting by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi. China has held the rotating presidency of the Security Council since May 1st. Moscow therefore sees the decision “not only as a violation of Washington’s obligations” but also as a “blatant disregard for the Chinese presidency,” said Nebenzia.
The USA is actually obliged under international law by the UN Headquarters Agreement of 1974 to allow representatives of UN member states to enter the country. So far, the reports have come from Russian sources; there is currently no statement from Washington. In practice, however, the USA uses exception clauses, which repeatedly leads to diplomatic conflicts.
Trump candidate prevails in Texas
Donald Trump has prevailed in the Republican power struggle in Texas: Attorney General Ken Paxton won the runoff election against long-time US Senator John Cornyn in the primary elections on Tuesday. This means that one of the most well-known Republicans in the Senate is losing his place on the party’s ticket after more than two decades. Paxton will now face Democratic Rep. James Talarico in the November election. The race is for one of Texas’ two seats in the U.S. Senate.
This could be important in the fight for the majority in the Senate. Trump pledged his support to Paxton just last week. He called him a “real MAGA warrior” and gave him additional support shortly before the vote. Cornyn’s defeat is seen as another success for Trump in his attempt to force critics and less loyal Republicans out of the party.
