Ukraine: UN General Assembly considers Russian annexations

Europe1 .fr with AFP 6:41 a.m., October 10, 2022

THE ESSENTIAL

The UN General Assembly is considering from Monday on a resolution condemning the annexation of four Ukrainian regions by Russia, the West hoping to prove the isolation of Moscow on the international scene.

The decision to bring the dossier to the attention of the General Assembly, where the 193 UN member states each have one vote, without a veto, was taken after Russia blocked a similar text during a meeting of the Security Council on September 30.

"If the UN system and the international community, via the General Assembly, did not react to this type of illegal attempt, we would be in a very bad situation", commented to the press Olof Skoog, Ambassador of the European Union in responsible for drafting the resolution in collaboration with Ukraine and other countries.

The absence of a vote from the General Assembly, expected at the end of the debates or not before Wednesday, would risk giving "carte blanche to other countries to do the same or to recognize what Russia has done" , he added.

Draft text seen by AFP condemns 'illegal' annexations of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions after 'so-called referendums' and stresses these actions have 'no validity' under international law .

He also calls for no one to recognize these annexations and calls for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

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In a letter addressed to all member states, Russia attacked "Western delegations" whose actions "have nothing to do with the defense of international law".

"They are pursuing their own geopolitical objectives," wrote Russian Ambassador Vassili Nebenzia, denouncing the "pressure" of the United States and its allies on other capitals.

In these circumstances, he called for a vote by secret ballot, a more than unusual procedure reserved in principle for elections, for example, of members of the Security Council.

"It's going to be hard"

"This does not show great confidence in the result," quipped a senior US administration official, even referring to "a somewhat desperate attempt".

According to the spokesperson for the General Assembly, such a procedure should first be submitted to the vote of the member states.

Without a secret ballot.

The UN Secretary General, guarantor of the "values" of the United Nations and its Charter, has also clearly denounced the annexations of Ukrainian territories.

"It goes against everything the international community is supposed to stand for. It flouts the purposes and principles of the United Nations. It is a dangerous escalation. It has no place in the modern world. It must not be accepted", had hammered Antonio Guterres on September 29.

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These remarks "prove that it is not a question of the West against Russia", commented the American official.

During the vote in the Security Council, no country sided with Russia, but four delegations (China, India, Brazil and Gabon) abstained.

While some developing countries resent the West's focus on Ukraine, others may follow suit this week.

The vote will make it possible to assess more precisely the degree of isolation of Russia.

The efforts of defenders of the text to convince potential abstainers are thus going well.

"It's going to be hard. The resolution against the annexation of Crimea in 2014 had collected a hundred votes. I think we will have more this time", confides a senior European official, counting on 100 to 140 votes for.

The first two resolutions of the General Assembly against the Russian invasion in March had collected 141 and 140 votes for, five against (Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea) and between 35 and 38 abstentions.

The third at the end of April, which suspended Russia from the Human Rights Council, had resulted in an erosion of international unity against Moscow, with many more abstentions (58) and votes against (24) facing 93 votes for.

For the senior American official, the "measure" of support for Moscow will be among those who "will stand with Russia" by voting no.