Middle East

Nikki Haley resigns as Trump’s UN ambassador

Trump meets with Haley in the Oval Office of the White House, 9 October (Reuters)

Nikki Haley announced on Tuesday that she will resign from her post as the US ambassador to the United Nations by the end of the year.

The ambassador cited the need for new blood in government as her reason for leaving.

"I think you have to be selfless enough to know when to step aside and let someone else do the job," she said.

Haley has been one of the most vocal defenders of Israel at the UN. She has repeatedly denounced what she calls the UN's "anti-Israel bias". She has also played a leading role in withdrawing Washington from the UN cultural body UNESCO and the UN Human Rights Council to protect the Israeli government from international criticism.

Last year, she blocked the appointment of former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad to be the UN envoy to Libya solely because he is Palestinian.

"The United States does not currently recognise a Palestinian state or support the signal this appointment would send within the United Nations," she said in a statement at the time.

On Tuesday, Haley appeared in a press conference next to President Donald Trump at the White House. She ruled out running for president in 2020, pledging to campaign for Trump in the presidential elections two years from now.

"Thank you Mr President; it's been an honour of a lifetime," she told Trump.

She also hailed Trump's brand of unilateral foreign policy.

U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley: "Now the United States is respected. Countries may not like what we do but they respect what we do." https://t.co/z5YZbandR6 pic.twitter.com/3LPpUU5s99

— The Hill (@thehill) October 9, 2018

"Countries may not like what we do, but they know that if want to do something we will follow it through. Look at the Chemical weapons in Syria," Haley told reporters on Tuesday.

"I think if you look at the anti-Israel bias and the strength that the President showed on the embassy. We will put the embassy where we want to put the embassy."

She also thanked the president's son in law and peace envoy, Jared Kushner, for his role in the ongoing negotiations at to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, calling his peace plan "so unbelievably well-done".

Trump meanwhile thanked Haley for "her service" and said he hoped she "comes back at some point."

Haley said she would remain in her post till the end of the year.

Trump said he would announce Haley's successor in the next two or three weeks, signalling that "many people" are interested in the job.

Original Article

[contf]
[contfnew]

middle east eye

[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]

Related Articles

Back to top button