As Western powers push harder in their efforts to underscore Moscow’s international isolation, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) will open debate on Monday on a draft resolution condemning Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions.
After Russia used its veto in a Security Council meeting on Sept 30 to block a similar proposal, it was decided to bring the matter before the UNGA, where the 193 UN members have one vote each and no one wields veto power.
According to the EU ambassador to the world body, Olof Skoog, who drafted the text in cooperation with Ukraine and other countries, they’d be in a very bad place unless the UN system and the international community react to this kind of illegal attempt through the UNGA.
Skoog underscored that if UNGA fails to act, it would give recognition to what Russia has done and would give carte blanche to other countries to do likewise.
A vote on the resolution that condemns Russia’s attempted illegal annexations of the four Ukrainian regions is expected no sooner than Wednesday.
Stressing that these actions have no validity under international law, the resolution calls on all states, international organizations, and agencies not to recognize the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson and demands that Russian troops withdraw from Ukraine immediately.
Underscoring that these actions have nothing to do with the protection of international law and the principles of the UN Charter, the Russian ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, has condemned Western delegations, accusing them of only pursuing their own geopolitical objectives.
Nebenzia also denounced the immense pressure that Washington and its allies are placing on other member states, pointing out that UNGA should vote by secret ballot given the circumstances.
A secret ballot is a highly unusual procedure – normally reserved for matters like electing the rotating members of the UNSC – that, according to General Assembly spokeswoman Paulina Kubiak, would first require a vote of the member states – and not by secret ballot.
Be the first to comment