UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and US Ambassador John Bolton sparred on Friday over the stalled UN budget and the slow pace of planned reforms amid fears that the impasse could lead to a "financial crunch."
"There has been suggestion by some governments, or a government, that we should not be given the two-year budget but maybe a temporary three-month or so budget," Annan told UN staff, referring to a Bolton proposal.
"This doesn't work for the United Nations," said Annan, who canceled an overseas trip this weekend to deal with the budget challenge.
Last month, Bolton suggested that the world body adopt an interim budget only for three or four months pending the resolution of a stalemate over management reforms which Washington strongly backs.
But Annan said on Friday that not adopting a full budget for 2006-2007 would lead to "a financial crunch."
"The business of the UN is not reform, the business of the UN is carrying on the mandates that the General Assembly, ECOSOC [the Economic and Social Council] and Security Council have given us, so that business must continue," Annan said.
"We should not take any initiative that will not only risk the reform but also the ongoing activities, and that's one of the reasons I decided to stay here," he added.
Annan called off a two-week Asian tour.
"We are at a critical stage of the budget process ... So I decided that it was important for me to work with member states to ensure that we get the budget approved," he said.
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