Nations need to pay bigger share: Haley

US Ambassador Nikki Haley told countries at the United Nations on Wednesday they need to "step up" and pay a bigger share of the multi-billion-dollar bill for peacekeeping operations.

The largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping, the United States last year negotiated a $600 million cut to that budget, but Haley made clear the administration wants to further trim the bill.

The United States will remain the number one financial supporter, Haley told a Security Council debate on peacekeeping, but it will cap its contribution to 25 percent, down from the current level of 28.5 percent.

"One country should not shoulder more than one quarter of the UN peacekeeping budget, and we look forward to a more equitable distribution of the budget among member states," she said.

"Moving forward, the United States will not pay more than 25 percent of the peacekeeping budget."

"All of us have a role to play, and all of us must step up."

After complex negotiations among the UN's 193 countries, the peacekeeping budget for 2017-2018 was set at $6.8 billion with 10 countries paying the lion's share.