The United Nations General Assembly voted Wednesday by an overwhelming majority to condemn annex Russia “illegal” to parts of Ukraine following Moscow vetoed a similar draft resolution in the UN Security Council.
The General Assembly adopted the resolution by 143 votes, while five countries opposed it and 35 countries abstained, including China, India, South Africa and Pakistan, despite the great US diplomatic efforts.
The resolution condemns “the Russian Federation’s alleged organization of referendums within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine” and the “attempted illegal annexation” announced by President Vladimir Putin last month of four Ukrainian regions.
The resolution calls on all United Nations and international agencies not to recognize any changes announced by Russia to the borders, and calls on Moscow to “immediately and unconditionally reverse” its decisions.
The Saudi mission to the United Nations said, “We supported the decision to condemn Russia for our commitment to international law, and we support peaceful solutions to the Ukrainian-Russian crisis through dialogue.”
Moscow and Kiev exchanged accusations during an emergency meeting of the General Assembly, on Tuesday, to discuss Moscow’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions, namely Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, Sergei Kislitsia, accused Russia of being a “terrorist state”.
mutual accusations
“Russia has proven once once more that it is a terrorist state that must be deterred by the strongest possible means,” he said following Russia’s missile attacks on several Ukrainian cities.
He also accused Russia of seeking to destroy the United Nations and attempting to revive the Soviet doctrine, pointing out that the Russian doctrine opposes the Charter of the United Nations.
On the other hand, the Russian delegate to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, accused the Kyiv regime of not wanting to allow the residents of Donbass to decide their fate.
He said that the Kyiv regime suppresses 40% of the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine.
secret ballot
He also called for a secret vote rather than a public vote on attempts to condemn the “annexation” of Ukrainian regions.
It is noteworthy that Russian President Vladimir Putin ratified the agreement on the accession of the four Ukrainian regions to Russia last week.
Putin’s ratification came following the Russian Federation Council unanimously approved last Tuesday the annexation of Ukraine’s Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions to Russia.
