Only five countries have voted against a non-binding resolution that “deplores” the aggression
China has been one of the 35 nations that has abstained in the vote, which points to the isolation of Moscow
It is not binding but its political and symbolic weight it is significant. 141 countries of the 193 represented in the United Nations General Assembly have approved this Wednesday a resolution what “deplores in the strongest terms the aggression committed by the Federation of Russia vs. Ukraine”. Five countries have voted against (Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea) and 35 have abstainedincluding China and two other nuclear powers, India and Pakistan. 12 states have not participated.
The vote at the UN, where the Russian veto in the Security Council on Friday already prevented the approval of a similar resolution that would have carried more weight, points to the Moscow’s growing diplomatic isolation. This isolation was confirmed by the mere fact of holding the emergency meeting that has ended this vote, an unusual tool that the General Assembly has only resorted to 10 times before, the last four decades ago, due to the occupation of Golan Heights Israel. And it has been ratified with the ovation that has received the result, with more support than anticipated in diplomatic circles.
The text
The resolution passed by the Assembly “demands that the Russian Federation immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces within the internationally recognized borders of the territory of Ukraine” and expresses “serious concern over reports of attacks in civil installations and civilian casualties”.
The text, which has had several editions since its original writing, has added a condemnation “to the decision of the Russian Federation to improve the level of readiness of its nuclear forces& rdquor ;, also “deplores the participation of Belarus in this unlawful use of force against Ukraine & rdquor ;, and urges Minsk to comply with its international obligations.
Another of the new paragraphs of the resolution “urges immediate peaceful resolution of the conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine through the political dialogue, negotiations, mediation and other peaceful means”.
unexpected props
More than 100 countries have made speeches in the last three days at the emergency session of the General Assembly and 95 have signed on as sponsors of the resolution, some of whose backups they have shocked the diplomatic world at the UN, such as those of Afghanistan, Myanmar or Serbia. Significant has also been the vote of United Arab Emiratesthe country that has taken over from Russia in the rotating monthly presidency of the Security Council and that, despite abstaining on Friday in the vote in that body, this Wednesday has supported the resolution.
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Russia has also had support that has been reflected in the vote and in speeches offered since Monday by countries such as Cuba or North Korea, which like Moscow despise the resolution as “unbalanced” and criticize the US and the West for the expansion of NATO. “We all share the responsibility for what is happening in Ukraine & rdquor ;, the Belarusian ambassador, Valentin Ribakov, said on Wednesday.
“The light has prevailed over the darkness“, the United States ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who had previously warned in her speech in the Assembly before the vote that “Russia is preparing to escalate the brutality of his campaign against Ukraine”.