The General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) approved by a large majority this Wednesday (12) a resolution condemning Russia for the annexation of Ukrainian territories. Two weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of the territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, based on referendums considered illegal by a large part of the international community.
The text condemning the annexation has been approved by 143 countries. Only five voted against (Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua and Syria) and there were 35 abstentions (including from China, South Africa, India and Cuba). Brazil voted in favor of condemnation.
The draft resolution approved by the General Assembly condemns the organization, by Russia, of “illegal referendums” in the Ukrainian regions that ended up annexed and declares that the attempts to seize these territories “have no validity under international law.”
A similar resolution had been vetoed by Russia in the UN Security Council on the day 30 of September. The Russian “no” was the only vote against the text proposed by the United States and Albania, which received ten supporters, while four countries (Brazil, China, India and Gabon) abstained. Faced with the Russian refusal, the US decided to take the text to the General Assembly.
Russia described the resolution as a “politicized and overtly provocative” instrument and guaranteed that it is a message of confrontation that “can destroy all efforts in favor of a diplomatic solution to the crisis.”
“It has nothing to do with the protection of international law and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. In submitting this draft , Western countries are pursuing their own geopolitical goals and are once again trying to use General Assembly members as extras,” said Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya.
The vote was a clear victory for the Ukraine and its allies, as the text received even more support than when in March that same body condemned the beginning of the Russian invasion, with a resolution that had 141 votes in favour, 35 abstentions and 5 votes against, a result that diplomats from different countries found difficult to repeat.
