Draft decision which directly condemns the annexation of four regions of Ukraine to Russia puts from today, Monday (10/10) on the “table” of o UN with the West hoping to demonstrate Moscow’s isolation on the international stage.
The issue reached the General Assembly, where the 193 UN member states have one vote each and no veto, as Russia vetoed a corresponding text submitted to the Security Council.
“If the UN system and the international community, through the General Assembly, do not react to these kinds of illegal attempts, we will be in a very bad situation” pointed out Olof Skoog, EU ambassador responsible for drafting the draft resolution in cooperation with Ukraine and other countries, as reported by the Athens News Agency.
If there is no vote in the General Assembly, which is expected after the end of the discussions, i.e. not before Wednesday, it risks “giving free rein to other countries to do the same or to recognize what Russia has done,” he added.
The draft text, obtained by AFP, condemns the “illegal” annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson after “the so-called referendums” and underlines that these actions “have no value” under international of law It also calls for no country to recognize these annexations and the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
In a letter to all members of the General Assembly, Russia attacked “the Western delegations” whose actions “have nothing to do with the defense of international law”.
“They are pursuing their own geopolitical goals,” Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia pointed out, denouncing “the pressure” the US and its allies are exerting on other countries.
Under these circumstances, Moscow requested that the vote on the draft decision be secret, an unusual procedure.
Guterres calls Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories a “dangerous escalation”
“This doesn’t show much confidence in the outcome,” quipped a senior US government official, calling it “a bit of a desperate attempt”.
According to a representative of the General Assembly, member countries will have to vote if they want the vote on the draft decision to be secret.
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has condemned Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories.
“It is against what the international community is supposed to stand for. It goes against the goals and principles of the UN. This is a dangerous escalation. It has no place in the modern world. It cannot be accepted”, he had emphasized on September 29.
These statements by Guterres “prove that the matter is not about a confrontation between the West and Russia”, commented the American official.
During the Security Council vote, no country sided with Russia, but China, India, Brazil and Gabon abstained.
As some developing countries have been annoyed that the West has focused all its attention on Ukraine, they are likely not to vote in favor of the draft resolution.
This vote will allow a more accurate assessment of Russia’s degree of isolation.
“It will be difficult. The decision against the annexation of Crimea in 2014 had gathered around 100 votes. I believe that this time there will be more,” said a high-ranking European side, speaking of 100 to 140 votes in favor of the text.
The first two resolutions of the General Assembly condemning the Russian invasion in March had gathered 141 and 140 votes in favor, against five against (Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea) and 35 to 38 abstentions.
The third vote at the end of April, suspending Russia from the Human Rights Council, was adopted with 93 votes in favor, but there were 58 abstentions and 24 votes against.
According to the US official, support for Moscow will be measured by those who “stand with Russia” by voting no.
Source: News Beast
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