U.S. diplomats walked out of a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine after accusing France of making "disingenuous grandstanding" by comparing Washington with North Korea, Russia and other authoritarian states.
The walkout followed a weekend of exchanges between the two allies on social media after France criticised the U.S. for voting alongside Russia, North Korea and seven other countries against extending the term of Volker Türk, the UN's human rights chief, by four years.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz hit back, accusing France of backing a rights chief who criticises democracies such as the U.S. and Israel while "cozying up to the world's worst oppressors."
During Monday's Security Council session on Russia's war in Ukraine, Alternate U.S. Representative Dan Negrea said the American delegation had walked out during France's remarks and would continue to do so until Paris "renounced" what he described as "condescending and disrespectful rhetoric", branding the comments "politicised drivel."
The row centres on Friday's UN General Assembly vote, which overwhelmingly backed a four-year extension for Türk, an outspoken critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Israel's actions in Gaza, who has also called for inquiries into deaths in U.S. immigration custody.
The proposal, put forward by Secretary-General António Guterres, passed by 144 votes to 10, with 13 abstentions. Russia, Israel and the U.S. were among those opposed, with Washington threatening to reconsider its funding and engagement with the UN over the decision.
The dispute underscores worsening relations between the Trump administration and the UN, with Washington having already cut funding to numerous bodies within the international organisation and withdrawn from dozens of agencies.
Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq declined to comment directly on the walkout, saying only that the UN expected member states to respect decisions made through the General Assembly.
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