US Pays UN $160M of Nearly $4B Owed    02/20 06:24

   

   UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United States has paid about $160 million of the 
nearly $4 billion it owes the United Nations, the U.N. said Thursday, and 
President Donald Trump promised more money to the financially strapped world 
organization.

   The Trump administration's payment last week is earmarked for the U.N.'s 
regular operating budget, U.N. spokesman Stphane Dujarric told The Associated 
Press.

   The U.N. has said the United States owes $2.196 billion to its regular 
budget, including $767 million for this year, as well as $1.8 billion to a 
separate budget for the far-flung U.N. peacekeeping operations.

   U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned late last month that the 
world body faces "imminent financial collapse" unless its financial rules are 
overhauled or all 193 member nations pay their dues, a message clearly directed 
at the United States.

   He said in a letter to all member nations that cash for the regular budget 
could run out by July, which could dramatically affect U.N. operations.

   U.N. officials have said 95% of the overdue payments to the U.N.'s regular 
budget is from the United States.

   The disclosure of the U.S. payment came as Trump convened the first meeting 
of the Board of Peace, a new initiative initially meant to oversee the Gaza 
ceasefire but whose wider ambitions under Trump many see as an attempt to rival 
the U.N. Security Council's role in preventing and ending conflict around the 
world.

   Trump has said the United Nations has not lived up to its potential and has 
withdrawn the U.S. from U.N. organizations, including the World Health 
Organization and the cultural agency UNESCO, while pulling funding from dozens 
of others.

   At the Board of Peace meeting Thursday in Washington, Trump was much more 
positive than he has been in the past about the future of the United Nations, 
which was established on the ashes of World War II.

   He said his administration was going to be working "very closely" with the 
U.N., adding, "Someday, I won't be here -- the United Nations will be."

   Trump said the Board of Peace "is going to almost be looking over the United 
Nations," strengthening it and making sure its facilities are good and it runs 
properly.

   "They need help, and they need help moneywise," the president said, never 
mentioning that the U.S. failure to pay its dues is a key reason for the U.N.'s 
financial crisis.

   "We're going to help them moneywise, and we're going to make sure the United 
Nations is viable," Trump said. "And I think it's going to eventually live up 
to its potential. That will be a big day."

   He did not say when any future payments would be made.

   Dujarric, the U.N. spokesman, said last week that Guterres has been in touch 
with U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz "for quite some time" and that the 
U.N.'s controller also has been in touch with U.S. officials about the arrears.

   The U.N. said 55 countries paid their annual dues for 2026 by the Feb. 8 due 
date.