Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for the United Nations Security Council to be reformed, decrying the fact that the United States could veto a ceasefire proposal for Gaza despite huge support from other countries.
“The United Nations Security Council demand for ceasefire is rejected only by U.S. veto. Is this justice?,” Erdogan said in a human rights conference in Istanbul.
“The U.N. Security Council needs to be reformed,” he added.
Erdogan’s statement came a day after the U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by the vast majority of its members calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
The vote left Washington diplomatically isolated on the 15-member council. Thirteen members voted in favor of the draft resolution put forward by the United Arab Emirates, while Britain abstained.
Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood told the council: “We do not support this resolution’s call for an unsustainable ceasefire that will only plant the seeds for the next war.”
The United States and Israel oppose a ceasefire, saying it would only benefit Hamas, which Israel has vowed to annihilate in response to the militants’ deadly Oct. 7 cross-border rampage.
