US says it will abstain on UN vote on Cuba embargo
The United States announced Tuesday that it will abstain for the first time in 25 years on a UN resolution condemning America's economic embargo against Cuba, a resolution it had always vehemently opposed.
The announcement by US Ambassador Samantha Power ahead of a vote on the resolution was greeted with applause in the 193-member General Assembly.
Power said the US was abstaining because of US President Barack Obama's new approach to Cuba, but she made clear that the United States "categorically" rejects statements in the resolution suggesting the embargo violated international law.
