The Truth Behind Russia and China's UN Security Council Abstentions

According to political scientist Norman Finkelstein in an interview on The Chris Hedges Channel (@ChrisHedgesChannel), the unanimous United Nations Security Council vote on November 17, 2025, represents a "watershed moment" that critically undermined the institution and international law. The analysis focuses on the abstentions of Russia and China from a resolution concerning Gaza. Finkelstein argues that while cynicism is inherent in great power politics, the abstaining nations faced a severe diplomatic dilemma.

Finkelstein suggests the abstentions were the result of intense "arm-twisting" by the United States, which reportedly presented member states with an ultimatum: support the resolution or risk giving Israel a "green light" for an unfettered military escalation. Compounding this pressure was the fact that major Arab and Muslim states, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, and Indonesia, along with the Palestinian Authority, publicly backed the resolution. This left Russia and China diplomatically cornered, forced to choose between opposing their regional partners or endorsing a resolution they privately opposed.

The scholar contends that the resolution itself was historically destructive, effectively erasing 70 years of established UN precedent on the Palestine question by presenting the issue as if from a "blank slate." He quotes the Russian statement that labelled the day a "black date in the history of the United Nations" and ended with the warning, "Don't say we didn't warn you." Finkelstein concludes that while nations may have felt coerced into voting for the resolution to prevent worse outcomes, the episode signifies a collapse of the UN's moral and legal authority, reducing it to an instrument of raw power politics.