One hundred nations voted in favour of the non-binding symbolic resolution, eleven countries opposed the resolution including Russia, and The Gambia and 57 others abstained, while 24 members did not cast a vote. Senegal, Mali, Mauritania and Burkina Faso also abstained.
But Benin, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo voted in favour of the resolution while Sudan and Zimbabwe voted against it while Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau absented themselves during voting.
While two US-known friends – Pakistan and Afghanistan – abstained from voting, superpower China and emerging superpower India kept themselves away from this US-EU move. Interestingly, strong US allies Israel and the United Arab Emirates absented themselves from voting.
Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov over the weekend claimed that Western powers had to “twist the arms” of some 50 countries to get their support for the UN General Assembly resolution on Ukraine.
“To others… they say: ‘If you do not support this resolution, you will face consequences. And specify what they will be like. We know this. Colleagues come and tell us privately why this or that minor country had to give in. For example, certain contracts will not be signed or political dividends will be recalled. Since the Western group, in its broad meaning, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan and some other countries, is composed of some 40-odd countries, they ‘twisted the arms’ of about 50 other countries or convinced them in other ways,” Lavrov claimed.
He stressed that Russia was harbouring “no negative feelings against these delegations. And this will not affect our bilateral relations”.
The document urges countries not to recognise Crimea’s accession to Russia after the referendum held on March 16. Unlike UN Security Council resolutions, those adopted by the UN General Assembly are not binding and are advisory in.
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