The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly condemned Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of four regions of Ukraine, demanding that Moscow reverse course.
US President Joe Biden said the vote sent a “clear message” to Moscow. “The stakes of this conflict are clear to everyone, and the world has sent a clear message in response: Russia cannot wipe a sovereign state off the map,” he said in a statement.
“Russia cannot change borders by force. Russia cannot seize another country’s territory as its own,” Biden said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was “grateful to the 143 states that supported the historic UNGA [United Nations general assembly] resolution,” tweeting: “The world has had its say – [Russia’s] Attempted annexation is worthless and will never be recognized by free nations.”
Three-quarters of the 193-member general assembly – or 143 countries – voted Wednesday in favor of a resolution calling Moscow’s move illegal, deepening Russia’s international isolation.
Only four countries joined Russia in voting against the resolution: Syria, Nicaragua, North Korea and Belarus. Thirty-five countries abstained, including Russia’s strategic partner China, along with India, South Africa and Pakistan. The rest did not vote.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, said the result of the vote was “incredible”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the vote showed international unity against Russia and reiterated that Washington would never recognize “sham” referendums.
The vote “is a powerful reminder that the overwhelming majority of nations stand with Ukraine, in defense of the UN Charter and in determined opposition to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and its people,” he said in a statement.
Before the vote, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, said: “Today it is Russia invading Ukraine. But tomorrow it could be another nation whose territory is violated. It could be you. It could be next. What would you expect from this chamber?”
In September, Moscow proclaimed its annexation of four partially occupied regions of Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – after holding so-called referendums. Ukraine and its allies have denounced the votes as illegal and coercive.
The resolution passed Wednesday states that Moscow’s actions violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, are “incompatible” with the principles of the UN Charter and “have no validity under international law and do not constitute the basis for to any alteration of the status of these regions of Ukraine.”
It demands that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”
It also supports “the de-escalation of the current situation and a peaceful resolution of the conflict through political dialogue, negotiation, mediation and other peaceful means” that respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and internationally recognized borders.
The general assembly vote followed Russia’s veto last month of a similar resolution in the 15-member security council.
Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, told the general assembly before the vote that the resolution was “politicized and openly provocative”, adding that it “could destroy all efforts in favor of a diplomatic solution to the crisis”.
He also reiterated Russia’s discredited claims that the referendums were valid, saying “the populations of these regions do not want to return to Ukraine.”
China abstained on Wednesday because it did not believe the resolution would be helpful, said China’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Geng Shuang.
“Any action taken by the general assembly should be favorable to the de-escalation of the situation, favor the rapid resumption of dialogue and favor the promotion of a political solution to this crisis,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s ambassador to the UN, Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, deplored the West’s “double standards”. “We support Ukraine. We want the war to end,” he said. “But we would like the international community to take similar actions against other situations in the world where countries are being invaded and occupied.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday on the sidelines of a regional summit in Kazakhstan.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Wednesday that the Turkish president could come up with ideas for peace, adding that “a very interesting and, I hope, useful discussion awaits us.”