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DiplomacyAt the UN, Ukraine accuses Russia of being a “terrorist state”
The member countries of the UN are meeting in New York urgently to discuss a resolution condemning the annexation of Ukrainian regions by Moscow.
Before the general assembly, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, “deeply shocked”, denounced the Russian bombings. (illustrative image)
Getty Images via AFP
Ukraine on Monday accused Russia of being a “terrorist state” at the UN for killing civilians by massively striking kyiv and major cities, bombings denounced by the United Nations and the West.
All the member countries of the UN have been meeting since 3:00 p.m. in New York (9:00 p.m., Swiss time) in an emergency general assembly to discuss a resolution condemning the annexation of Ukrainian regions by Moscow. With this resolution, which could be put to the vote on Wednesday, Westerners hope to show that President Vladimir Putin’s Russia is isolated on the international scene.
But it was Monday morning’s strikes that dominated the meeting and the two warring countries clashed in front of the United Nations. “Russia has once again proven that it is a terrorist state that must be deterred in the strongest possible way,” insisted Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya.
In response, his Russian counterpart Vasily Nebenzia compared the kyiv regime to the “most scandalous of terrorist organizations”, two days after the explosion – a “sabotage” according to Moscow – which seriously damaged the Russian bridge in Crimea.
“Absolute brutality”
Ahead of the general assembly, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, “deeply shocked”, denounced the Russian bombardments: “a new unacceptable escalation of the war” for which civilians “are paying the highest price”.
US President Joe Biden protested against the “absolute brutality” of his Russian counterpart, while European diplomacy denounced “barbaric attacks”. Ukrainian emergency services reported a provisional toll of 11 dead and 89 injured across the country, but Ambassador Kyslytsya spoke of 14 civilians killed and 97 injured.
Before these strikes, the UN had decided to bring the file of the annexations of Ukrainian regions to its general assembly – where each of the 193 members have a vote, without veto – after Russia had blocked a similar text in the Security Council September 30.
“Illegal” annexations
The draft text seen by AFP condemns the “illegal” annexations of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson after “so-called referendums” and stresses that 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.
In a letter to all member states, Russia attacked “Western delegations” whose actions “have nothing to do with upholding international law.” The session at the general assembly was disrupted by a procedural battle launched by Moscow to obtain, in vain, a vote on the resolution by secret ballot, an unusual procedure reserved in principle for elections, for example, of members of the Security Council.
“Dangerous Climb”
Antonio Guterres had also denounced the annexations of Ukrainian territories: “It flouts the purposes and principles of the United Nations. It is a dangerous escalation. It has no place in the modern world. This must not be accepted”, he had hammered on September 29. The words of the UN chief “prove that it is not a question of the West against Russia”, commented an American official.
During the vote in the Security Council, no country sided with Russia, but four (China, India, Brazil and Gabon) abstained. While some developing countries resent the West’s focus on Ukraine, others may follow suit this week.
“It’s going to be hard”
The vote will make it possible to assess the degree of isolation of Russia. The efforts of defenders of the text to convince potential abstainers are thus going well. Visiting Africa, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba said he “urges Africa not to remain neutral” during the vote, according to a statement from the Ukrainian Embassy in Dakar.
“It’s going to be tough. The resolution against the annexation of Crimea in 2014 received around 100 votes. I think we will have more this time, ”confided a European official, counting on 100 to 140 votes in favor. 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.
(AFP)