UN General Assembly demands Russian withdrawal from Ukraine | War in Ukraine
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution addressing Ukraine on Thursday in New York.
The UN General Assembly on Thursday demanded an “immediate” withdrawal of Russian troops who invaded Ukraine a year ago, voting by a very large majority a resolution also calling for a “just and lasting” peace.
The non-binding resolution garnered 141 votes in favour, 7 against (Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea, Mali, Nicaragua, Eritrea) and 32 countries abstained, including China and India, out of 193 states members of the United Nations.
Similar support in October, when 143 countries condemned Russia's annexation of several Ukrainian territories, with five voting against.
Since Wednesday, representatives from dozens of countries have marched to the UN rostrum in support of Ukraine, while Kyiv has urged members of the international community to choose between good and evil.
The adopted resolution reaffirms the commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine and demands that Russia immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces of Ukrainian territory within the country's internationally recognized borders, a reference to the territories annexed by Russia.
It also calls for a cessation of hostilities and stresses the need to achieve, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter.
For a year, while Russia has been using its right of veto to prevent any action in the Security Council on Ukraine, the General Assembly has taken over on this file.
And even if its resolutions are non-binding, they are not just a piece of paper, defended the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell on Thursday, seeing in it the reflection concerns of the international community.
In a year, we must not meet to mark the anniversary of this absurd war of aggression, launched for his part the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi, hoping instead for a summit for peace in 2024.
The Kharkiv cemetery where several Ukrainian fighters are buried.
But Russia shows no desire for peace […]. She knows no peace except that of silence, of the dead, and of ruins, warned her French counterpart Catherine Colonna.
A path to peace which is nevertheless very clear: Russia must stop bombing, insisted the head of German diplomacy Annalena Baerbock. It is not peace when an abuser asks his victim to give up.
On Wednesday at the opening of this special session, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres castigated the affront to our collective conscience represented by the invasion of Ukraine.
The possible consequences of the escalation of the conflict are a clear and already there danger, he warned, referring in particular to nuclear risks.
General Secretary Antonio Guterres
But President Vladimir Putin vowed this week to proceed methodically his offensive in Ukraine, in a speech with anti-Western rhetoric reminiscent of the Cold War.
Its ambassador to the UN Vassili Nebenzia also lashed out at Westerners, accusing them, in their desire to inflict defeat on Russia, of being ready to plunge the whole world into the abyss of war.
This war is not about the West against Russia, replied Josep Borrell. This illegal war concerns everyone: North, South, East and West.
It's even a global war, but not a world war, he commented, pointing out the cascading impacts on the entire planet.
< p class="e-p">In this context, China, which once again abstained, promised to make public this week a political solution, elements of which it presented to Kiev and Moscow.
Wars have no winners, said Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dai Bing.
A year into the Ukrainian crisis, the hard facts prove that sending weapons will not bring peace, he added, calling Kiev and Moscow to resume dialogue as soon as possible.
The three previous resolutions related to Russian aggression voted by the General Assembly over the past year had collected between 140 and 143 votes in favour, with a handful of countries consistently voting against (Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea) and less than 40 abstaining.
A fourth one little different in April, which suspended Russia from the Human Rights Council, was less consensual (93 votes for, 24 against, 58 abstentions).
