India votes to reject Russia's demand for secret ballot on Ukraine at UN

India voted against Russia’s demand for a secret ballot in the UN General Assembly on a draft resolution to denounce Moscow’s “illegal” annexation of four regions in Ukraine. New Delhi favoured a public vote on the text along with over 100 other nations.

The 193-member UN General Assembly on Monday (October 10) voted on a motion by Albania that demanded action on the draft resolution that would condemn Russia’s “illegal so-called referendums” and “attempted illegal annexation” of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine be taken by a recorded vote.

Also read: Ready to support de-escalation in Ukraine, says India

Secret ballot demand

Russia had demanded that the resolution be voted upon by secret ballot.

Moscow’s demand for a secret ballot was rejected after 107 UN member states, including India, voted in favour of a recorded vote.

Only 13 nations voted in favour of Russia’s call for a secret ballot while 39 abstained. Russia and China were among the countries that did not vote.

Russia disputed the General Assembly president’s decision after the motion to hold a recorded vote was approved and appealed against the ruling of the president of the general assembly.

It asked the motion to be reconsidered, which too was rejected as 104 countries, including India, voted against the motion’s reconsideration, while 16 voted in favour and 34 abstained.

Russian protest

Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s permanent representative, claimed that the UN membership had become a party to an appalling deception in which the General Assembly president, regrettably, had a significant role.

“We were not given the floor to make a point of order (the indicator light at our seat is still on), our statement was distorted, and now UN member states are being robbed of their right to express their opinion freely,” Nebenzia said.

“The legitimacy of the General Assembly and the United Nations as a whole is being undermined by this unprecedented deception. Russia decided not to participate in the vote given these circumstances,” he added.

India had chosen to abstain in September when the US and Albania had proposed a draft UN Security Council resolution to denounce Moscow’s “illegal referenda” and invalidate the annexation of four Ukrainian areas.

The action in the UN General Assembly came hours after Russia carried out strikes against multiple Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv where at least 10 people were killed and around 60 others wounded across Ukraine.

India’s stand

India’s External Affairs Minister Jaishankar during a joint press conference on Sunday had refused to disclose India’s stand on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, he said that India has never supported the idea of ‘war.’

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In New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the escalation of hostilities was in no one’s interest and noted that India stood ready to support all such efforts aimed at de-escalation of the situation.

“India is deeply concerned at the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, including the targeting of infrastructure and deaths of civilians,” he said, urging the immediate cessation of hostilities.

(With agency inputs)