Draft resolution fails as Russia exercises veto

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): With Russia exercising its veto, a draft resolution sponsored by the U.S. and Albania, condemning Russian aggression and calling for the country’s withdrawal from Ukraine, has failed to pass the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

India, along with China and the UAE, abstained, while 11 members voted in favor of it. The U.S. vowed to take the issue to the General Assembly, where Russia does not have a veto. Government officials said India has been speaking to all parties including Russia and Ukraine to return to the negotiating table  “By abstaining, India retained the option of reaching out to relevant sides in an effort to bridge the gap and find the middle ground with an aim to foster dialogue and diplomacy,” a source said.

The vote at the UNSC had to be postponed twice, for an hour at a time, as U.S. and Albanian diplomats, the “penholders” of the resolution, negotiated with other countries, trying to build a consensus for the draft.

However, according to officials who saw the draft, the original version was too strong, as it invoked UN Chapter VII, which authorizes the use of force against Russian troops in Ukraine. After several rounds of heated negotiations, the U.S. agreed to soften the resolution and drop the Chapter VII reference, which is believed to have ensured that China also abstained along with India and the UAE, while Russia was alone in voting against the resolution.

“Let us never forget that this is a war of choice. Russia’s choice,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S.’s permanent representative (PR) to the United Nations told the Council. “To those who say all parties are culpable, I say that is a clear cop out. One country… one country is invading another,” she said, adding that countries who based their position on Russia having a historical relationship with Ukraine should think about whom that label would apply to next.  “Vote ‘no’ or abstain if you do not uphold the charter and align yourselves with the aggressive and unprovoked actions of Russia,” she said.

Delivering India’s explanation of vote, PR T.S. Tirumurti said India was “deeply disturbed” by the developments and called for the “immediate cessation “of violence. Mr. Tirumurti said that the global order had been built on the UN Charter and the respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states. He called on states to respect these principles and for dialogue to settle their differences.

During his speech, as with his other UNSC speeches relating to the Ukraine crisis, Mr. Tirumurti said India was “deeply concerned” about the welfare of Indians in the country. Ukraine’s PR Sergiy Kyslytsya took a shot at India on this count, when it was his turn to speak. “And I may say to some: It is exactly the safety of your nationals right now in Ukraine that you should be the first to vote to stop the war – to save your nationals in Ukraine. And not to think about whether you should or should not vote because of the safety for your nationals,” he said.

Mr. Kyslytsya said he was “saddened” that a “small handful of members” seemed to be “tolerating” the war.

China’s PR Zhang Jun backed diplomatic negotiations between the parties, saying, “Ukraine should become a bridge between the East and the West, not an outpost for confrontation between major powers.”

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called the resolution not just anti-Russian but also anti-Ukrainian, saying the document (draft resolution) ran counter to the interests of Ukraine’s people as it sought to keep the existing government in power.

With reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking the Ukrainian army to depose its government, Mr. Kyslytsya, addressing his Russian counterpart in the Security Council Chamber, asked, “Are you crazy?”

In post-meeting remarks to the press, U.N. Secretary-General Atonio Guterres said the meeting’s objective had not been achieved.

“Today, that objective was not achieved. But we must never give up,” he said. “We must give peace another chance.”