Washington, Mar 31 (PTI) Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna on Sunday defended the decision of the Biden Administration not to stop or veto the passage of a UN Security Council that called for immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
In an interview with Fox News, Khanna said that this would help the US build its international coalition on this issue.
“You have 14 countries in the world in the Security Council that have been calling for a ceasefire and the immediate release of all hostages. We’ve been the only country in the past that was vetoing, it actually was hurting our ability to build the multilateral coalitions,” Khanna said.
“We need to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, to stand up to Chinese President Xi Jinping because we were isolating ourselves from allies we need. And it’s a philosophical difference. (Former Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo believes that America can go it alone. President Joe Biden believes in building alliances to stand up to Putin and Xi Jinping,” he said in response to a question.
Pompeo had criticised the Biden Administration for not vetoing such a resolution.
“Not only will Hamas be happy with the abstention. The Iranian terrorists will be happy. The folks who underwrote the train, the people who committed the barbarities of October 7th, the Russians will be happy, the Chinese Communist Party will be happy. And all our friends around the world will see that an ally walked away from its friends in its time of struggle,” Pompeo had said.
Responding to a question, Khanna hoped that the popularity rating of Biden on his foreign policy would improve soon.
“I think people realize that there’s a crisis they see images of people dying and they want the war to end. They want Israel to be secure but they also want Palestinian lives not to be lost,” he said.
“I think once the war comes to an end under the President’s leadership, his numbers will improve, just like his numbers have bounced back on the economy. And in the Bloomberg poll, he’s closed the gap in a lot of the swing states,” Khanna said. PTI LKJ RUP RUP RUP
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