U.S., China, Russia poke each other at UN Security Council

NEW YORK - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took a veiled swipe at Russia and China on Friday during a UN Security Council meeting chaired by his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, warning that the actions of some big powers portrays impunity to others.

The meeting on multilateralism, convened by China as council president for May, comes amid a UN battle for influence between the world’s two biggest economies as President Joe Biden seeks to reassert traditional U.S. leadership - reversing former President Donald Trump’s favored unilateral approach - in the face of a more assertive Beijing.

Blinken stressed the need for countries to uphold international commitments, focus on human rights and respect for the principle of sovereign equality.

“When UN member states – particularly permanent members of the Security Council – flout these rules and block attempts to hold accountable those who violate international law, it sends the message that others can break those rules with impunity,” he said.

Russia, China, the United States, France and Britain are the permanent, veto-wielding powers of the 15-member council.