US expected to again prevent Abbas from speaking at UN - and this is the surprise in the race for the next Secretary-General
American sources told ynet that the Trump administration intends to again prevent Mahmoud Abbas from coming to New York to address the UN General Assembly. Abbas turned to Erdogan to intervene with Trump, but the administration is not changing its position. Meanwhile, in the second round of voting for UN Secretary-General, Rebecca Greenspan weakened and Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett of Guyana rose to first place.
American sources told ynet that the Trump administration intends to again prevent Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas from coming to New York to address the UN General Assembly next month. This is the second consecutive year the United States is preventing Abbas from entering its territory to participate in the assembly. Abbas turned to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and asked him to intervene and persuade President Donald Trump in an attempt to reverse the decision. Erdogan, whom Trump often calls a "good friend," spoke with him this week - but the administration does not intend to change its position. Abbas is scheduled to address the assembly on September 24, and if he does not receive entry clearance, he may have to deliver his speech via video, as he did last year. The State Department responded that the administration protects the country by maintaining high standards of national security and public safety in the visa process. Meanwhile, a second round of voting was held today in the process to elect a new UN Secretary-General to replace Antonio Guterres. Eight candidates are running. In the previous round, Jewish candidate Rebecca Greenspan led with 10 supporting votes, but this time she weakened to 7 supporters and 4 opponents. Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett of Guyana, whose election Israel fears, climbed to first place with 8 supporters and 3 opponents. Michelle Bachelet plummeted to the bottom with two supporters and six opponents. Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said the choice of the next Secretary-General is a test for the future of the UN.