Karen Pierce said it was a matter of shame that Russia had again blocked a resolution ATILGAN OZDIL/GETTY IMAGESMidway through a bitter stand-off in the UN security council over chemical weapons inspections in Syria, the British ambassador raised a question: what would Karl Marx make of this? Marx and Vladimir Lenin were playing an oddly prominent role in the debate over how to respond to a suspected chemical attack on the town of Douma on April 7. The United States and its allies wanted an investigation that would attribute responsibility for the attacks; Russia promised to use its veto to prevent this. Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian ambassador, said his American counterpart Nikki Haley would doubtless try to shame Russia over its veto. Mr Nebenzya, a thickset figure with no hair and very little neck, has a muscular approach to diplomacy.

Source: The Times April 11, 2018 22:52 UTC