COVID-19 Initiative: Moscow responded to Kiev blocking draft resolution at UN

The Russian Permanent Mission to the UN criticized Ukraine’s position regarding the resolution, co-sponsored by the Russian Federation. According to the Russian Permanent Mission, “a group of Western and adjoining states” opposed the adoption of this document.

This is the second version of the draft UN Declaration on Solidarity in the Fight against Coronavirus. As indicated in the mediation, the main purpose of preparing this document was to call for solidarity of the world community in the face of a pandemic, especially in relation to support for developing countries. The project included a clause on the rejection of the use of unilateral economic sanctions against developing countries.

“Putting the question this way, we primarily reacted to the appeals of these countries themselves, which are experiencing serious problems in confronting the disease due to coercive measures against them,” the permanent mission explained.

“This time, the victim of the“ firm and unshakable ”Ukrainian line was the draft of one of the General Assembly resolutions aimed at coordinating international efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic, co-authored by more than 30 states, including Russia,” the commentary of the Russian permanent mission said.

Diplomats noted that Ukrainian diplomats "are not at all confused by the sacrilege of their position, which undermines one of the possible directions of international cooperation in the fight against COVID-19."

The Permanent Mission indicated that work in this direction would help developing countries in vulnerable situations amid a pandemic.

“I would like to recall that the call for lifting coercive economic measures that limit the ability to combat the pandemic was directed specifically at developing countries, which our Ukrainian colleagues apparently do not care about,” Russian diplomats explained.

At the same time, the permanent mission emphasized that we are not talking about lifting sanctions from Russia. “We are not discussing illegal restrictions introduced against us, we are not bargaining with anyone, and we are not begging anyone to remove them,” the statement said.

The document was rejected in the second review. The original version of the resolution was rejected in early April. Then the Russian permanent mission indicated that Ukraine, Georgia, Great Britain, the USA and the EU had prevented the adoption of the document. 

It should be noted that earlier on April 22, an official publication appeared in the official Facebook account of the Ukrainian mission to the UN, stating that Kiev blocked the “next manipulative resolution of Russia at the UN”.

“As I promised at the beginning of April, we will continue to block Russia's attempts to destroy the sanctions regime. For an effective fight against the world with a pandemic, real solutions are needed that will bring practical benefits. And certainly, politicized resolutions aimed at easing sanctions are not needed, ”said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.

First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Volodymyr Dzhabarov drew attention to the familiar nature of the reaction of the Ukrainian side to initiatives from Russia.

“Any initiative that comes from Russia in Ukraine will be perceived with hostility, which would not be discussed. Especially about the sanctions that they have been hoping for since 2014, hoping that our country will bend under them, ”said the senator in an interview with RT.

He noted that Ukraine is not a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

“Few people are now paying attention to her voice; the whole world today is busy with much more important problems. People who die due to sanctions during a pandemic should remain on the conscience of Ukrainian politicians, ”Jabarov concluded.

In turn, Vladimir Olenchenko, a senior fellow at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS, pointed out that Ukraine works in a single direction - confrontation with Russia.

“They still can’t free themselves from this false and hopeless idea. It does not bring any fruits to Ukraine. It is also worth noting the low competence of Ukrainian diplomacy. These two factors work. I would like sensible people in Ukraine to gain access to power and act in the interests of the Ukrainian population, ”the expert summed up.