NEW DELHI, March 23: Ahead of the crucial voting in the United Nations on the Russian invasion into Ukraine, India has send Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla to monitor the discussions on two draft resolutions on humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
The UN Security Council is due to take up the resolutions for voting on Wednesday and Shringla reached New York on Tuesday to participate in the Security Council meeting on cooperation between the UN and the League of Arab States. Shringla’s arrival in New York comes as the United Nations is set to witness a busy and crucial day Wednesday over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Following the UN Security Council meeting on cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States, the Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine put forward by Russia. The UN General Assembly will also resume the 11th Emergency Special Session on Ukraine and vote on a resolution put forward by Ukraine and its allies.
On previous occasions, India abstained on resolutions in the Security Council and the General Assembly on Russian aggression against Ukraine. Moscow had last week put off a vote on its resolution and US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia did so “because they knew that they didn’t have support for that resolution.”
On what kind of vote the Russian resolution will get in the Security Council on Wednesday, she said “there is no support for the resolution in the Council.” The American envoy said Russia putting forth a humanitarian resolution on Ukraine is akin to an “arsonist calling for the neighbours to help him put out the fire that he started in one neighbour’s house”.
The 11th Emergency Special Session of the UNGA on Ukraine will resume Wednesday morning after 22 member states, including France, the UK and the US, wrote to the President of the 193-member UN body, Abdulla Shahid, to convene the meeting. The General Assembly, the most representative body of the United Nations, had on February 28 convened the rare emergency session on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Before the end of the session on March 2, the General Assembly had voted to reaffirm its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders and deplored in the strongest terms Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
India, along with 34 other nations, had abstained on the resolution, which was adopted with 141 votes in favour and five member states voting against.
The UN General Assembly will again vote on a draft resolution titled ‘Humanitarian consequences of the aggression against Ukraine’ by Ukraine and co-sponsored by more than 70 states. South Africa too has put forward a rival resolution for the UNGA that makes no mention of Russia.
(Manas Dasgupta)