Alongside China, India and Gabon, the Brazilian representative preferred neutrality. Russia, which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, vetoed the resolution presented by the USA and Albania. As expected, Russia vetoed this Friday (30/09) a resolution in the UN Security Council that condemned the illegal annexation “referendums” held by Moscow in Ukrainian territories.
The resolution, presented by the United States and Albania, received 10 votes in favor and one against – by Russia, which is a permanent member of the body and therefore has veto power.
Brazil abstained, as did China, India and Gabon. According to Brazil’s justification, the reservation concerns the language used in the resolution, which, in its view, would not facilitate the peace negotiation process.
The draft resolution condemned the consultations illegally organized and carried out by Russia from 23 to 27 September in four Ukrainian regions partially or fully occupied by Moscow – Kherson, Zaporyzhia, Lugansk and Donetsk – and declared that the “referendums” had no validity and were not valid. may form the basis for the annexation of these regions by the Kremlin.
“Do you really expect Russia to pass this resolution?” joked Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, before vetoing the project, claiming that the population of these regions wants to belong to Ukraine.
Before the vote, in a message calling for a vote in favor of the resolution, the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, stressed that the US will never recognize the annexation.
For the Ukrainian ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, the fact that Russia was the only country to veto the resolution shows that the Moscow government is isolated.
China abstained from the resolution but expressed concern about “a protracted and amplified crisis” in Ukraine.
The country has tried to maintain a neutral stance on the conflict, criticizing Western sanctions against Russia but failing to endorse or aid the military campaign, despite the two nations declaring a “no-limits” strategic partnership in February.
Beijing’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun argued that while “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be safeguarded”, the “legitimate security concerns” of countries must also be taken seriously.
Voting at the General Assembly
As the resolution was vetoed by Russia, the project must now be taken by Washington for a vote at the UN General Assembly, where the overwhelming majority of countries have condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and where no state can block a decision alone, but whose resolutions carry less weight.
The aim, according to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, is to send Moscow an “unmistakable message” that “the world is still on the side of defending sovereignty and protecting territorial integrity.”
“The United Nations was built on the idea that one country will never again be able to take the territory of another by force”, underlined the American diplomat, stressing that the results of these “fraudulent referendums were predetermined by Moscow and everyone knows”.
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned Russia that the annexation of Ukrainian territories “will have no legal value and deserves to be condemned”, stressing that “it cannot be reconciled with the international legal framework”.
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed, in a ceremony in the Kremlin, treaties to annex the four Ukrainian regions. The measure – illegal and harshly condemned by the international community – marks an escalation in the conflict and begins an unpredictable phase, seven months after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
A few hours later, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the country’s request for accelerated accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
le (Lusa, DPA, AFP, ots)
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