As of Tuesday evening, nearly half of the 193 members of the General Assembly had signed as co-sponsors of a draft resolution which will be put to a vote later in the day, diplomats said.
The West and theUN accuse Moscow of violating Article 2 of the United Nations Charter, ordering its members to refrain from threats and the use of force to settle a crisis. Russia, for its part, claims to exercise its right to self-defence, provided for in Article 51 of the Charter.
There is not much left of the central square of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second most important city after its capital, Kiev, after Russian bombardments.
Photo: Getty Images/AFP/SERGEY BOBOK
The resolution put to the vote deplores in the strongest terms Russia’s aggression against Ukraine
and affirms its attachment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine
including its territorial waters
.
In addition to calling for the withdrawal of Russian soldiers, the text condemns Russia’s decision to step up the alerting of its nuclear forces
a mention missing from the text presented to the Security Council.
To be adopted, the resolution piloted by the European Union in coordination with Kiev within the framework of this rare emergency special session
must obtain two-thirds of the votes for and against cast.
More than 100 countries are expected to speak at the session before the vote. Dozens of states are expected to formally abstain from voting or not pledge at all
The Assembly almost unanimous
Since Monday, the General Assembly of theUN showed an overwhelming majority of countries denouncing Russia’s behavior and demanding cessation of fighting
.
Throughout the General Assembly session, many African and Latin American countries joined with the United States and Europe to denounce the Russian invasion.
Concern seemed to grow over a domino effect if Russia managed to seize Ukraine. In such a case, who will be the next one?
asked Albania.
The Arab world has remained in the background, with Kuwait, the victim of an invasion of Iraq in 1990, standing out from the crowd to explicitly denounce Moscow.
For the Asian continent and the Pacific region, Japan and New Zealand denounced Russian violations of international law. Close militarily to Moscow, India remained cautious, while China stressed that the world had no nothing to gain
of a new Cold War.
On the Russian side, unsurprisingly, Syria, Nicaragua, Cuba and North Korea castigated Westerners who have – Pyongyang claimed – destroyed Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan
.
In 2014, a similar condemnation of Russia for the annexation of Crimea, which was carried out without bloodshed unlike the current invasion, obtained 100 votes in favor, 11 against, while 58 countries opposed abstained and that the rest of the 193 members had not taken part in the ballot.
Another attempt at the Security Council
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya at the Security Council meeting regarding Ukraine, January 31, 2022, in New York
Photo: Reuters/Andrew Kelly
The text proposed to the Assembly is inspired by a resolution rejected last week in the Security Council of theUN because of a Russian veto that outraged Westerners.
In an attempt to break the impasse in the Security Council, France is drafting a resolution with Mexico aimed at protecting humanitarian aid. Initially expected on Tuesday, its vote is now scheduled for the end of the week due to arduous negotiations, including between Paris and Washington, according to diplomats.
The position of Moscow, which could once again affix a new veto, remains unknown.
