I voted United Nations General Assembly, On Tuesday, Russia’s request to hold a secret vote in the 193-member assembly later this week on whether to denounce Moscow’s move to annex four partially occupied regions of Ukraine was rejected.
With the approval of 107 members, the General Assembly decided to hold a public vote, not a secret ballot, on a draft resolution denouncing the “allegedly illegal referendums” and “the illegal attempt to annex territories”.
Diplomats said a vote on the resolution would likely take place on Wednesday.
13 countries oppose
On Monday, only 13 countries opposed a public vote on the draft resolution, while 39 other countries abstained and the rest of the countries did not vote.
Russia argued that Western pressure would mean it “could be very difficult if positions were expressed publicly”.
Moscow moved to annex four regions in Ukraine, namely Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, after organizing what it described as referendums.
Ukraine and its allies denounced those ballots as illegal and coercive.
draft resolution
The draft resolution, to be voted on later this week, calls on countries not to recognize Russia’s move and reaffirms Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In turn, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on the international community earlier on Monday to make clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions were “totally unacceptable.”
“Now is the time to speak out in support of Ukraine, not to refrain, or words of appeasement or deceit under the umbrella of neutrality. Fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter are at stake,” Blinken said in a statement.
veto
It is noteworthy that Russia vetoed a similar resolution in the 15-member Security Council last month. Russia is trying to end its international isolation after nearly three-quarters of the General Assembly voted to rebuke Moscow and demand it withdraw its forces within a week of its military operation in neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24.
From Russia’s referendum to annex Ukrainian regions
The moves at the United Nations mirror what happened in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula. Russia vetoed the Security Council against a draft resolution opposing the referendum on the status of the peninsula and urging countries not to recognize it.
Then the General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the referendum invalid by a vote of 100 to 11, with 58 official abstentions, while 24 countries did not participate.