All the countries of the United Nations meet Monday afternoon in New York in general assembly to debate a condemnation of the annexation of Ukrainian regions by Moscow, just after massive Russian strikes denounced by the UN and the West.
With this resolution, which should be voted on this week, Westerners hope to show that President Vladimir Putin’s Russia is isolated on the international scene.
Before the start of the General Assembly at 3:00 p.m., the UN blasted deadly Russian bombardments, on a scale not seen in months, which hit kyiv and other cities on Monday morning.
Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply shocked” and denounced “a new unacceptable escalation of the war” for which civilians “are paying the highest price”, according to his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.
“Barbarians” and “blind”
European diplomacy rose up against “barbaric attacks” by Russia, which “opted for a tactic of indiscriminate bombing of civilians”, while NATO condemned “horrible and indiscriminate attacks”.
Ukrainian emergency services have reported a provisional toll of 11 dead and 64 injured across the country.
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 has a vote, without veto – after Russia had blocked a similar text in the Security Council on 30 september.
“If the UN system and the international community, via the General Assembly, did not react to this type of illegal attempt, we would be in a very bad situation,” commented Olof Skoog, European Union ambassador responsible for drafting the draft resolution with Ukraine and other countries.
“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”.
“They pursue their own geopolitical objectives,” wrote Russian Ambassador Vassili Nebenzia, denouncing the “pressure” of the United States and their allies on other capitals.
In these circumstances, he called for a vote by secret ballot, a more than unusual procedure reserved in principle for elections, for example, of members of the Security Council.
“A little desperate”
“This does not show great confidence in the result,” quipped a senior US administration official, even referring to “a somewhat desperate attempt”.
Mr. Guterres had also denounced the annexations of Ukrainian territories: “This 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 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 delegations (China, India, Brazil and Gabon) abstained.
While some developing countries resent the West’s focus on Ukraine, others may follow suit this week.
The vote will make it possible to assess more precisely the degree of isolation of Russia. The efforts of defenders of the text to convince potential abstainers are thus going well.
“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, ”says 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.
For the senior American official, the “measure” of support for Moscow will be among those who “will stand with Russia” by voting no.