20110118
reuters

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday delayed a vote on sending additional troops to Ivory Coast, where the blue helmeted peacekeepers have been under attack, due to Russian objections, council envoys said.

The 15-nation council was set to vote on a resolution to send an additional 2,000 peacekeepers to help the 10,000 U.N. troops and police in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast, known as UNOCI. But diplomats said Russia raised last-minute objections on Tuesday morning about the language.

"It's obviously a delay tactic," one diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Another diplomat said council members would have to satisfy Moscow's demands in order to get the resolution approved.

"We need Russia on board," the diplomat said. "We have to listen to them." He added that he hoped the council would vote on the troop increase on Wednesday at the latest.

British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant confirmed that Russia, whose oil giant Lukoil is exploring for crude in Ivory Coast, had issues with the draft resolution. "They want a delay in the vote," he told reporters ahead of a council meeting.

Alassane Ouattara is widely recognized by Western and African governments as president-elect of Ivory Coast, after the electoral commission proclaimed him winner of the November 28 presidential poll. The results were certified by the U.N. mission but rejected by incumbent Laurent Ggagbo.

Gbagbo has refused to resign and retains control of government buildings, state television and the security forces, while Ouattara's parallel administration is based in a U.N.-guarded hotel under siege by pro-Gbagbo forces.

Russia, like the United States, Britain, France and China, is a permanent veto-wielding council member and can prevent the passage of any Security Council measure.