Aug 27 (Reuters) – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday he expects a new contribution of hundreds of millions of dollars the United States owes to the U.N. budget very soon.
Reuters reported last week that the Trump administration has informed the U.S. Congress of its intention to pay $725 million of dues it owes to the U.N. Asked when that payment was expected, Guterres told reporters that according to information received by the U.N., “this will be very soon.”
The State Department said in its August 4 letter it was obligating a total of $725 million for the U.N.’s regular budget.
The $725 million is less than 15% of the more than $5 billion the U.N. says the United States owes to the world body, although Washington argues the total figure is much lower.
In May, the U.N. said Washington owed $2.04 billion for the regular budget.
Guterres warned this year that the U.N. faced “imminent financial collapse” due to unpaid contributions from member states, most of which are owed by the United States, and the global body has conducted large budget cuts.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized the U.N. for not living up to its potential and slashed funding to many U.N. agencies. A U.S. official told Reuters last week that any payments will be contingent on continued U.N. reforms and added that the U.S. had not transferred any funds as of Friday.
The U.S. mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Guterres’ latest remark.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; editing by Susan Heavey and Bill Berkrot)
