The world’s states have strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(Photo: dpa)
new York With an overwhelming majority, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling on Russia to stop its attack on Ukraine. The text states that Russia must withdraw its armed forces from the country. Moscow’s decision to put its nuclear land, air and sea forces on high alert is also condemned.
With a record 141 votes in favour, five against and 35 abstentions, the General Assembly voted in favor of the resolution after three days of debate. Twelve nations stayed away from the vote.
The UN Security Council had declared itself unable to act. As a result, the General Assembly was convened for an emergency session, despite Russia’s veto and China’s abstention in the Security Council.
In order to be successful, two-thirds of the votes cast had to be in favor. The 141 out of 181 votes are seen as an enormous success: 100 were considered the minimum, 120 as realistic.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
In the background, the Russians had actively campaigned against a vote. Smaller states in particular are often unrelated to the current conflict, but also more vulnerable to threats from more powerful nations. Therefore, until the last moment, it was unclear how many members would actually have the courage to openly vote against Russia.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock traveled personally from Germany on Tuesday and campaigned for the resolution in a moving speech. She earns a long round of applause and praise for it. Her appearance, her accusations against her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and her understanding of the interests of other UN countries are said to have persuaded several states to vote for the resolution, according to diplomatic circles.
>> More about Baerbock’s appearance before the UN General Assembly: “Act or look away. We have to decide”
The Russian representative denied the allegations, saying Russia’s attacks were not targeting civilians. He spoke of radicalization and reiterated the danger of neo-Nazis in Ukraine, which Kremlin propaganda put forward as a reason for war. He accused the government in Kyiv of arming everyone, including former prisoners. Russia’s accusations had been exposed as unfounded by various parties and on several occasions.
Even Serbia voted in favor of the resolution, which was not clear beforehand. The Balkan republic respects the territorial integrity of countries, said the Serbian representative, who called both Ukraine and Russia brother countries.
The resolution speaks of an “aggression against Ukraine”. The word “deplore” is chosen in the text, which means “to disapprove” rather than “to condemn”. Basically, the text is identical to that of the resolution that the Security Council was unable to pass on Friday because of Russia’s veto.
The representative of the veto power China had criticized the wording of that resolution and stated that his country had abstained. It is important to take into account the security concerns of all countries. However, he also announced that his country would continue to act as a mediator for possible negotiations.