Dockyard in the international arena: Russia called on its 193 members at the UN General Assembly on Monday to establish themselves in support of a military invasion of Ukraine or Vladimir Putin’s democracy and sovereignty during its “emergency extraordinary session”.
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The meeting begins at 10:00 a.m. with speeches by Assembly President Abdullah Shahid and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. A vote is expected on a resolution at the end of the speeches, which will continue as a large number of speeches are expected on Tuesday.
The initial draft of the resolution, adopted by the AFP and entitled “Russia’s Unprovoked Armed Occupation Against Ukraine,” was conducted by Europeans in conjunction with Kiev, “strongly condemns Russian aggression against Ukraine.”
Similar to the US-Albanian speech co-sponsored by more than 80 countries from all continents, Russia was rejected by the Security Council on Friday following a veto calling for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and a halt to fighting. Its authors hope to cross the 100-vote mark in favor of the text, whereas the General Assembly has no veto right.
In the Security Council, Africa and Latin America, along with the United States and Europe, condemned the Russian invasion. In the General Assembly, Moscow’s regular supporters – Syria, Cuba, China, India … – must support its policy or abstain when it comes to voting.
Apart from one position for Ukraine, the extraordinary session of the United Nations General Assembly – organized only ten of the 1950s – will, according to diplomats, be the barometer of world evolution.
In recent years, authoritarian regimes, military or not – Russia, Burma, Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, Venezuela, Nicaragua … – seem to have taken precedence over democratic development.
“The scale of the invasion shows that Vladimir Putin’s goal is to occupy the country, destroy democracy there and establish a puppet government in Kiev,” EU High Representative Joseph Borrell Le Monde summed up the newspaper’s verdict this weekend. For foreign affairs. “So it is questionable whether Ukraine will survive as an independent country, a very serious threat to European security,” he added.
To Albany’s ambassador to the UN, Ferrit Hoxha, the country, which has been a permanent member of the Security Council since January, is a question beyond Ukraine. After Russia entered the war on February 24, “Who’s next?” He asked. The issue was later taken up by the United States as concerns escalated for Moldova and Georgia.
Many countries fear that “if Russia wins in Ukraine, the international order will change forever,” a senior diplomat told the AFP anonymously.
In the immediate future, the UN will have to focus on the humanitarian crisis triggered by the Russian invasion if it fails to gain the ability to put an end to wars. The United States and the European Union estimate that 5 to 7 million refugees could be affected if the conflict continues.
Monday at 3:00 p.m. France convenes an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday to pass a resolution calling for a “ceasefire”, “protection of civilians” and “granting unrestricted humanitarian assistance.”
After the first veto on Friday, Russia’s position on the draft was unknown.
Since the beginning of its invasion, Russia has been begging for the “defense” provided for in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. After deploying tens of thousands of troops equipped with tanks, warplanes and ships in and around Ukraine, Vladimir Putin on Sunday indirectly threatened to use nuclear weapons to bring down Ukraine, sparking an outcry from the United States to Europe.
Moscow promised to target only military targets, an insistence rejected by the West and the UN, that civilian casualties and attacks on civilian infrastructure could be war crimes.
Russia’s defensive argument has been flatly rejected by the West and the UN, which accuses Moscow – and planned to do so again on Monday – of violating Article 2 of the UN Charter. Using power to solve a crisis.
