A draft resolution denouncing Russia’s annexation of four areas of Ukraine will be debated at the UN General Assembly on Monday as Western nations work to highlight Moscow’s worldwide isolation.
The decision was made to put the issue before the General Assembly, where each of the 193 UN members has one vote and no one has veto power after Russia used its veto to thwart a similar motion in a Security Council meeting on September 30.
“It’s extremely important,” said Olof Skoog, who, as EU ambassador to the world body, drafted the text in cooperation with Ukraine and other countries.
“Unless the UN system and the international community through the General Assembly react to this kind of illegal attempt, then we would be in a very, very bad place,” the Swedish diplomat told reporters.
A failure by the General Assembly to act — a vote is expected no sooner than Wednesday — would give “carte blanche to other countries to do likewise or to give recognition to what Russia has done,” he added.
According to a draft of the resolution obtained by AFP, Russia’s “attempted illegal annexations” of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson after “so-called referendums” are condemned and it is emphasized that these actions are “without legal standing under international law.”
It demands the immediate removal of Russian forces from Ukraine and appeals on all nations, international organizations, and agencies to refuse to acknowledge the annexations.
