U.S., Russia Engage in Verbal Slugfest at U.N.

Saber-rattling between the United States and Russia almost make it seem as if the Cold War is alive and well.

Last week, tempers flared during a United Nations committee meeting, even if nobody pounded a shoe like Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev did in 1960.

Newsmax has learned that acting U.S./U.N. Ambassador Alex Wolff and Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin engaged in what witnesses labeled a verbal slugfest during a committee meeting preparing for the General Assembly, which opened this week.

Details on what transpired during the closed-door meeting are sketchy. But Newsmax has been told that events got so out of hand that General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto had to call security officers to clear the conference room. Officials at the U.S. and Russian missions declined comment.

The verbal slugfest came on the heels of several recent public spats between the two diplomats concerning the recent Russian invasion of Georgia.

D'Escoto, a former foreign minister in the Sandinista government of Daniel Ortega, had just recently assumed the GA president's position.

President George W. Bush, who is making his final appearance at the U.N. this week, expects to confer with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who also will be visiting United Nations headquarters.