The United States is considering delaying or blocking the appointment of France's new ambassador to Washington, scheduled to begin September 1, according to a Reuters report. The move follows a French UN mission post accusing the US of no longer being a 'beacon of human rights' and being isolated alongside Russia and North Korea. Tensions escalated further on Monday when the US delegation walked out of a French speech at the UN Security Council on Ukraine, accusing Paris of 'hypocritical grandstanding.' A US State Department official said Washington is 'very disappointed' by France's 'irresponsible and disrespectful rhetoric.'
The United States is considering delaying or blocking the appointment of France's new ambassador to Washington, a move that would mark a significant escalation in a diplomatic crisis between the two allies. The report, attributed to Reuters, came on Wednesday evening as the US also walked out of a French speech at the UN Security Council on Monday.
The crisis stems from a post by the French mission to the UN in Geneva, published in recent days, accusing the United States of no longer being a 'beacon of human rights' and of being isolated alongside Russia, North Korea, and other nations. The statement followed a US vote against extending the term of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. As The Zioneer reported on Sunday, the French mission wrote that 'the world no longer listens to the US; it is isolated.'
A US State Department official expressed deep disappointment, calling France's rhetoric 'irresponsible and disrespectful,' and said Washington is responding accordingly. The tensions escalated further when the US delegation walked out of the Security Council chamber during a French speech on Ukraine, accusing Paris of 'hypocritical grandstanding.'
The dispute represents a rare public rift between the United States and France, two of the oldest NATO allies. France's new ambassador was scheduled to assume his post in Washington on September 1. It remains unclear whether the US will formally block the appointment or seek a diplomatic resolution.
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