The United States has cut off funding of UNESCO after the UN body supported Palestine's accession bid, Victoria Nuland, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, said on Monday.
“We were to have made a $60 million payment to UNESCO in November, and we will not be making that payment,” Nuland said, adding that “today's vote by the member states of UNESCO to admit Palestine as a member is regrettable, premature, and undermines our shared goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”
Earlier on Monday UNESCO granted full membership to Palestine with 107 member states voted in favor and 14 against.
The United States provides about $80 million in annual funding for UNESCO or more than 20 percent of the agency's total budget.
