Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine territories: India abstains on UNSC resolution

India on Friday abstained on a UN Security Council resolution that would have condemned Moscow’s illegal referenda and declared its annexation of four Ukrainian territories as invalid.

The resolution failed to get adopted as permanent UNSC member Russia vetoed it. Ten of the 15 members of the Council supported it, while China, Gabon, India, and Brazil abstained. India cited the “totality of the evolving situation” to justify its stand.

The 15-nation UN Security Council voted on Friday on the draft resolution tabled by the US and Albania on Illegal So-Called Referenda in Ukraine. It came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties to annex the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia in a lavish ceremony in the Kremlin.

Also read: Putin illegally annexes Ukraine land; Kyiv seeks NATO entry

“Need for dialogue”

Addressing the Council after the vote, India’s permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, said that India was deeply disturbed by the recent turn of developments in Ukraine, and New Delhi had always advocated that no solution can ever arrive at the cost of human lives.

“We urge that all efforts are made by concerned sides for the immediate cessation of violence and hostilities. Dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes, however daunting that may appear at this moment, she said in the explanation of the vote.

The path to peace requires us to keep all channels of diplomacy open, she said. Underlining that India’s position has been clear and consistent from the very beginning of this conflict, Kamboj said the global order is anchored on the principles of the UN Charter, international law, and respect for sovereignty and the territorial integrity of all states.

Escalation of rhetoric or tensions is in no one’s interest. It is important that pathways are found for a return to the negotiating table. Keeping in view the totality of the evolving situation, India has decided to abstain on this resolution, she said.

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The US stand

US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said before the vote that the outcomes of Russia’s sham referenda were pre-determined in Moscow.

“Everybody knows it. They were held behind the barrel of Russian guns. Time and time again, we have seen the Ukrainian people fight for their country and their democracy,” she said.

“Earlier today, we saw Putin celebrate this clear violation of international law. He threw a party on Red Square to pat himself on the back for these illegal referenda. He is gloating and reminiscing about the Soviet empire and stated that this was just the beginning. As we all sit in this chamber and solemnly consider this resolution, Putin is instead boastfully shoving our shared values in our faces,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

She added that if Russia chose to shield itself from accountability, “we will take further steps in the General Assembly to send an unmistakable message to Moscow that the world is still on the side of defending sovereignty and protecting territorial integrity.

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Russia’s counter-argument

Russia’s permanent representative Vassily Nebenzia said before the vote that the results of the referendum spoke for themselves and that the residents of these regions did not want to return to Ukraine.

“They have made an informed and free choice in favour of our country,” he claimed, adding that the referenda were carried out in full conformity with the norms and principles of international law.

He added that more than 100 international observers from Italy, Germany, Venezuela, Latvia, and other states, who monitored the voting, also recognised the results as legitimate.

“Washington, which today is the loudest to criticise us and to speak of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, recently declared that they were willing to use force to protect Taiwan, which is an integral part of the People’s Republic of China,” he argued.

“No turning back”

Nebenzia said treaties had been signed on the accession of these new regions into the Russian Federation. “There will be no turning back, as today’s draft resolution would try to impose,” he added.

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The resolution tabled by the US and Albania would have declared as illegal Russia’s “referenda taken on September 23 to 27 in parts of Ukraine’s regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya that are under Russia’s temporary control.” These “can have no validity and cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of these regions of Ukraine, including any purported annexation of any of these regions by the Russian Federation,” the draft resolution read.

The resolution would have also called upon all states, international organisations, and specialised agencies not to recognise any purported acquisition by Russia of any or all of Ukraine’s regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, or Zaporizhzhya, and to refrain from any action or dealing that might be interpreted as recognising any such purported acquisition.

India hopes for peace talks

In her statement, Kamboj pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unequivocally conveyed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy in his discussions with world leaders, including Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. She also referred to statements made by external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Ukraine during the high-level General Assembly session last week.

She also remined everyone of Modi’s remark to Putin—that this was not an era of war—on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand last month. Kamboj said New Delhi was sincerely hoping for an early resumption of peace talks to bring about an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the conflict.

Also read: Ukraine crisis: India votes against Russia for first time at UNSC

Unlike leading Western powers, India has hardly criticised Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, barring a procedural vote in the UNSC in August, when it voted against the country. India has abstained on two previous occasions—in the Security Council and in the UN General Assembly—on resolutions on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Violation of UN principles”

Putin’s proclamation of the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia came a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that any annexation of a state’s territory by another state, resulting from the threat or use of force, is in violation of the principles of the UN charter and international law.

Any decision to proceed with the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned, Guterres said.

“It cannot be reconciled with the international legal framework. It stands against everything the international community is meant to stand for. It flouts the purposes and principles of the United Nations. It is a dangerous escalation. It has no place in the modern world. It must not be accepted,” the UN chief said.