United Nations (EFE).- The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday approved by an overwhelming majority a resolution condemning the “illegal referendums” held in four Ukrainian regions and the Russian attempts to annex these territories.
The text collected 143 votes for, 35 abstentions (including from China, South Africa, India and Cuba) and only 5 votes against (Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua and Syria) and illustrates the rejection energetic international action of the Kremlin.
The resolution, which came after Russia vetoed a similar Security Council resolution in UNdemands that Moscow reverse its actions regarding the status of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions and demands that it withdraw its troops immediately and unconditionally from Ukraine.
According to the General Assembly’s decision, referendums and subsequent declarations of annexation “have no validity under international law and in no way serve as a basis for changing the status of these regions of Ukraine”.
Russia called the resolution a “politicized and openly provocative” instrument and assured that it is a message of confrontation which “could destroy all efforts for a diplomatic solution to the crisis”.
“It has nothing to do with the protection of international law and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. By presenting this project, Western countries are pursuing their own geopolitical goals and are once again trying to use the members of the General Assembly as figureheads.”
Vasily Nebenzia, Russian ambassador at the UN.
Diplomatic defeat for Russia
The vote was a clear victory for Ukraine and its allies, since the text received even more support than when, last March, this same body condemned the start of the Russian invasion, with a resolution which received 141 votes for, 35 abstentions and 5 votes. cons, a result that diplomats from different countries have struggled to repeat.
In 2014, when the UN General Assembly condemned Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the resolution was supported by 100 countries, while 11 voted against and 58 abstained.
Wednesday’s vote ended days of intense talks at the United Nations, with European and American diplomats trying to rally as many supporters as possible and Russia seeking no votes or at least abstentions.
The struggle has focused above all on the countries of the so-called “global south” and, more specifically, on the states of Africa, Asia and Latin America which have not taken a clear position on the war.
Speeches from both sides were directed at them today, with Russia denouncing the “hypocrisy” of Western powers due to precedents like Kosovo, recalling Europe’s colonial past and accusing UNITED STATES and its allies to lobby hard for votes.
Web editor: Juan David Mosos