UNITED NATIONS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The United Nations General Assembly voted on Monday to reject Russia's call for the 193-member body to hold a secret ballot later this week on whether to condemn Moscow's move to annex four partially occupied regions in Ukraine.
The General Assembly decided, with 107 votes in favor, that it would hold a public vote - not a secret ballot - on a draft resolution that condemns Russia's "illegal so-called referenda" and the "attempted illegal annexation." Diplomats said the vote on the resolution would likely be on Wednesday or Thursday.
Only 13 countries on Monday opposed holding a public vote on the draft resolution, another 39 countries abstained and the remaining countries - including Russia and China - did not vote.
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register
Russia had argued that Western lobbying meant that "it may be very difficult if positions are expressed publicly." During the meeting on Monday Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia questioned the push to condemn Moscow.
"What does this have to do with peace and security or trying to settle conflicts?" said Nebenzia, describing it as "yet one more step towards division and escalation, which I'm sure is not something the absolute majority of states in this room need."
After the General Assembly decided on Monday that it would hold a public vote on the draft resolution, Russia immediately tried to get the body to reconsider the issue, but it overwhelmingly failed.
Moscow has moved to annex four partially occupied regions in Ukraine - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia - after staging what it called referendums. Ukraine and allies have denounced the votes as illegal and coercive.
The draft U.N. General Assembly resolution calls on states not to recognize Russia's move and reaffirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The United Nations headquarters building is pictured with a UN logo in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
Ukraine's U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called on countries to defend the principles of the founding U.N. Charter.
"A trail of blood is left behind the Russian delegation when it enters the General Assembly and the hall is filled up with the smell of smoldering human flesh. That's what we have tolerated in Syria. That's what is happening today in Ukraine," he told the General Assembly on Monday.
Russia rained cruise missiles on busy Ukrainian cities on Monday in what the United States called "horrific strikes", killing civilians and knocking out power and heat with its most widespread air attacks since the start of the war more than seven months ago.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed the international community earlier on Monday to make clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions were "completely unacceptable."
"Now is the time to speak out in support for Ukraine; it is not the time for abstentions, placating words, or equivocations under claims of neutrality. The core principles of the U.N. Charter are at stake," Blinken said in a statement.
Russia vetoed a similar resolution in the 15-member Security Council last month. It has been trying to chip away at its international isolation after nearly three-quarters of the General Assembly reprimanded Moscow and demanded it withdraw its troops within a week of its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
The moves at the United Nations mirror what happened in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea. At the Security Council Russia vetoed a draft resolution that opposed a referendum on the status of Crimea and urged countries not to recognize it.
The General Assembly then adopted a resolution declaring the referendum invalid with 100 votes in favor, 11 against and 58 formal abstentions, while two dozen countries didn't take part.
Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Alistair Bell and Rosalba O'Brien
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
tacticalcraptical on October 11st, 2022 at 04:53 UTC »
I just don't understand how Russia even thinks things like this are still on the table after all of this.
Grogosh on October 11st, 2022 at 04:03 UTC »
They are desperate to try to legitimatize them invading and trying to carve off parts of another country as their own.
doublestitch on October 11st, 2022 at 03:54 UTC »
It was quite a drama to watch the UN emergency session today. Russia threw up one procedural objection after another, grandstanded with accusations calling Ukraine the cause of the war and a puppet of the West. Then after each of Russia's objections got shot down one country after another stood up. Some took the podium to speak for geographic regions: for Scandinavia, for the Pacific Island nations; others spoke individually. Albania was eloquent. Costa Rica was concise. Poland was heartfelt. Some protested Russia's obstructionism; all protested Russia's actions. No one offered a speech in support of Russia.
Here's a link to the recording.