NEW YORK: As many as 141 countries including Nepal voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution “deploring” Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and demanding the immediate and complete withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukrainian territory.
Why it matters: The resolution is non-binding, but reflects Russia’s historic isolation on the world stage just one week into its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
The full UNGA vote came after Russia vetoed a similar resolution in the 15-member UN Security Council. Four countries joined Russia in voting against the resolution — Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria — while 35 including China and India abstained from it.
Between the lines: Serbia, which has close historical ties with Russia, surprised many observers by voting in favor of the resolution. The United Arab Emirates and Israel, two US security partners that have been criticized for declined to speak out against Russia’s aggression, also chose to vote for the resolution.
India, however, abstained from voting. The world’s largest democracy has longstanding military ties with Russia from the Soviet era, causing headaches for the US.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the outcome of the vote, tweeting, “I’m grateful to everyone and every state that voted in favor of Ukraine. You have chosen the right side of history.”
1/2 I praise the approval by the #UN GA with an unprecedented majority of votes of the resolution with a strong demand to Russia to immediately stop the treacherous attack on 🇺🇦. I’m grateful to everyone & every state that voted in favor. You have chosen the right side of history pic.twitter.com/1sb0qjxXKs
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 2, 2022