US denies Olmert influenced UN vote

The US has denied that a telephone call made by Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, to George Bush, the US president, led to the US abstaining in a UN vote on the Gaza war last week.

In a speech late on Monday, Olmert said Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, was left 'pretty shamed' at the vote and had to abstain on a resolution she had helped arrange.

Sean McCormack, a US state department spokesmen, who was with Rice at the UN last week during debate on the security council resolution, said the remarks were 'just 100 per cent, totally, completely untrue'."

US denies Olmert influenced UN vote