Seven days following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s Russia was banned from the international community on Wednesday March 2 in New York, when the resolution “Aggression once morest Ukraine” was adopted. The text asks Moscow to “stop using force in Ukraine” and condemns his decision “to increase the alert of its nuclear forces”. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, where all member states are represented, in order to circumvent the veto imposed by Russia on the Security Council six days earlier.
The vote, which took place following two and a half days of speeches, lasted less than a minute; the results were immediately displayed on the giant screens of the hemicycle: 141 countries, out of 193 members, approved the resolution, five opposed it and 35, including China, abstained. With the result confirmed, a large majority of diplomats stood up and cheered wildly for a vote that many are calling a“historical”.
“The message from the General Assembly is loud and clear”reacted Secretary General Antonio Guterres following the election. “End hostilities in Ukraine – now. Open the door to dialogue and diplomacy – now. »
“Putin is not only attacking Ukraine”
“A huge majority of nations recognize that Putin is not only attacking Ukraine, but also the very foundations of peace and security in the world”added US President Joe Biden in a statement. “The international community has shown its unity”underlined Emmanuel Macron, during a televised intervention devoted to the conflict.
Russia appeared even more isolated than in 2014, during a similar condemnation at the UN General Assembly for the annexation of Crimea: instead of the ten countries which had voted in favor then, only four dictatorships did it yesterday – Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea. “Vladimir Putin’s Russia joins the club of the worst outcasts”analyzes a European diplomat, who underlines that such mobilization is very rare for this kind of resolution “pointing a finger at a country”. For him, “The brutality in which the events have unfolded over the past ten days has made even the countries geographically most distant from Ukraine react. Vladimir Putin certainly underestimated the power of social media.
Showing Russia’s isolation is crucial in Western strategy. Even if this resolution has no binding value, unlike those voted by the Security Council, diplomats are counting on its symbolic value and the pressure it might exert on the holding of talks with a view to an uncertain cease fire. The Ukrainian ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, denounced at the UN rostrum a “genocide” going on in his country, perpetrated by Russia.
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