The UN condemns Russia

143 UN member states, Romania included, condemn the annexation by Russia of four Ukrainian territories

Leyla Cheamil, 13.10.2022, 01:50

The UN General Assembly
has overwhelmingly condemned Russia’s proclaimed annexation of four Ukrainian
regions in eastern and southern Ukraine, calling it illegal. The resolution
was initiated by Ukraine and Albania, following the Russian Federation’s
rejection of a similar resolution in the Security Council at the end of
September. The text was co-sponsored by Romania, along with 75 other UN member
states. Of the organization’s 193 member states, 143, including Romania,
adopted Wednesday’s resolution. It is the largest number of votes obtained
since the beginning of the war against Ukraine in favor of a UN General
Assembly resolution on this topic.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the vote
showed international unity against Russia and repeated Washington would never
recognize the sham referendums.

The vote is a powerful reminder that the overwhelming
majority of nations stand with Ukraine, in defense of the UN Charter and in
resolute opposition to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and its people,
Blinken said in a statement. With very few nations voting with Russia today,
it is clear that international unity on this question is resolute and support
for Ukraine at the UN and beyond is unwavering, Blinken also said.

It came as no
surprise that five countries, namely Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and
Nicaragua, voted against. 35, among which China, India, Pakistan and South
Africa abstained, despite the diplomatic efforts of the United States. Before
the vote, the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, asked as many
countries as possible not to abstain. Today it is Russia invading Ukraine. But
tomorrow it could be another nation whose territory is violated. It could be
you. You could be next. What would you expect from this chamber?, she said.

Through this resolution, co-edited by the European Union and presented by Ukraine, the Westerners state that, seven months after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, they have proved that President Vladimir Putin’s Russia is isolated on the international stage. The text urges that no state recognizes these annexations and demands the immediate withdrawal of the Russian troops, who entered Ukraine on February 24.

Romanian
Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu welcomed the adoption of the
resolution condemning the illegal annexation by Russia of the four Ukrainian
territories. The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that Bucharest
condemned in the strongest terms the signing of the so-called agreements of
accession to the Russian Federation of some Ukrainian regions under the
illegal occupation of Russian troops. These actions cannot produce any kind of
effect from the point of view of international law, and Romania does not
recognize their validity, especially with regard to the operation of any change
regarding the territorial membership of the Ukrainian regions concerned , the Romanian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also stressed. (MI)