UNITED NATIONS, April 19. /TASS/. Palestine’s full membership at the United Nations is "more urgent now than ever before," Chinese Permanent Representative to the UN Fu Cong said.
"We still hear some complaints asserting that there is not enough time and there is no need to rush into actions. These claims are disingenuous. The admission of Palestine as a full member of the UN is more urgent now than ever before," he said.
The Chinese diplomat went on to say that it is unacceptable that "some countries" are challenging Palestine’s eligibility for membership of the UN. He also described the question of whether Palestine is peace-loving as "outrageous."
"For the Palestinian people who are suffering under occupation, this is tantamount to rubbing salt in the wounds. It is extremely insulting," the Chinese ambassador said.
He denied claims that direct talks with Israel are a vital precondition for Palestine’s UN membership.
"It is more and more clear that the Israeli side is rejecting the two-State solution, the admission of the State of Palestine as a full UN member would allow Palestine to enjoy equal status with Israel and would help create conditions for the resumption of negotiations between the two sides," Fu Cong said.
Earlier in the day, the United States exercised its veto right and blocked Palestine’s bid to become a full-fledged member of the United Nations. 12 countries, including Russia and China, voted in favor; two - the United Kingdom and Switzerland - abstained. The United States was the only country that voted against.
On April 4, Malta, which holds the UN Security Council presidency this month, granted Palestine’s request to resume its UN membership process. The Palestinian diplomatic mission attached to its request letters of support from the group of Arab Nations at the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement. Another annex to the document contained the list of 140 countries that have already recognized Palestine as a sovereign country.