Speaking during a gathering of the UN Security Council’s members is Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia (Reuters)
While China and three other nations abstained from the voting, Russia used its veto to block the adoption of a resolution in the UN Security Council denouncing its annexation of four regions of Ukraine.
Ten member states, including China, India, Brazil, and Gabon, abstained from voting in favour of the resolution text that the United States and Albania had drafted.
The Western powers will now attempt to exert pressure on Russia by putting the draught resolution up for a vote in the General Assembly, which is made up of all United Nations members, despite the fact that the Russian veto was inevitable. The Western powers will be relieved that Moscow did not receive support from Beijing.
At the start of the meeting, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas Greenfield stated, “This is precisely the mission for which the Security Council was founded, to preserve sovereignty, safeguard territorial integrity, and promote peace and security.”
She continued, “The United Nations was founded on the principle that one country would never be permitted to occupy another country’s territory by force.
Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia thought it was extraordinary to try and convict a permanent member of the Security Council.
“Do you really think Russia will take this initiative into consideration and support it? If not, it will appear that you are deliberately pressuring us to use the veto before claiming that Russia is abusing this power, “added he.
Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of state, had earlier on Friday indicated that his nation would attempt to put the idea up for a vote in the General Assembly.
Blinken told reporters in Washington, “If Moscow hinders the Security Council from fulfilling its duties, we will ask the United Nations General Assembly, where every country has a vote, to make it plain that it is unacceptable to redraw boundaries by force.”
Russia opposes its criticism of the takeover of Ukrainian territory by exercising its “veto.”
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