UNITED NATIONS, \u2014 A Russian-drafted call for aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine that does not mention Moscow\u2019s role in the crisis failed at the UN Security Council, with only Russia and China voting yes and the remaining 13 members abstaining.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Russia cared about the humanitarian situation, it would stop bombing children and end their siege tactics. But they haven\u2019t,\u201d Britain\u2019s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward told the council after the vote. Russia denies attacking civilians.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A Security Council resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, Britain, France or the United States to be adopted. Russia\u2019s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused those who abstained on Wednesday of doing so \u201cfor political reasons\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Explaining China\u2019s yes vote, Ambassador Zhang Jun said Beijing had a \u201cstrong expectation\u201d that there should be an immediate ceasefire, but that while pushing for a halt to the fighting, the council should \u201calso respond to the humanitarian crisis in a positive, pragmatic and constructive manner\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
China abstained last month in a Security Council vote on a draft resolution that would have deplored Moscow\u2019s Feb 24 invasion of Ukraine, a move Western countries viewed as a win for showing Russia\u2019s isolation. Russia vetoed the resolution.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Moscow had scrapped a planned council vote on the draft aid resolution last Friday after accusing Western countries of an \u201cunprecedented pressure\u201d campaign against the measure. The United States rejected Russia\u2019s allegation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cRussia alone is to blame for the war in Ukraine,\u201d US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council on Wednesday. \u201cRussia\u2019s disingenuous efforts to deny the truth of its actions will continue to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A diplomatic tit-for-tat has been escalating since Russia launched what it calls a \u201cspecial military operation\u201d that is says aims to destroy Ukraine\u2019s military infrastructure. UN chief Antonio Guterres has blasted Russia\u2019s \u201cabsurd war.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Russia proposed the Security Council text after France and Mexico withdrew their own push for a council resolution on Ukraine\u2019s humanitarian situation because they said it would have been vetoed by Moscow. That draft would have criticised Russia for its role in creating the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Ukraine and its allies are instead planning to put a similar draft resolution to a vote this week in the 193-member General Assembly where no country wields a veto. General Assembly resolutions are nonbinding, but they carry political weight.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
South Africa has put forward a rival draft text in the General Assembly on the same issue that does not mention Russia.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Ukraine-led draft currently has 88 co-sponsors and South Africa\u2019s draft has about six, including China, diplomats said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Nebenzia accused Ukraine and its allies on Wednesday of \u201canother political anti-Russian show\u201d in the General Assembly, urging countries to vote for the South African draft, saying it would \u201csend a signal to Ukraine\u2019s peaceful population that the United Nations is aware of their situation and wants to help.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Ukraine\u2019s UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya appealed to the UN General Assembly: \u201cWe ask all those who stand against the war to vote with us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Ukraine and its allies are looking to improve on the 141 yes votes cast to adopt a March 2 General Assembly resolution that deplored Russia\u2019s \u201caggression\u201d against Ukraine and demanded it withdraw. Russia, Belarus, Eritrea, North Korea and Syria voted no, while 35 states \u2013 including China \u2013 abstained.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, \u2014 A Russian-drafted call for aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine that does not mention Moscow\u2019s role in the crisis failed at the UN Security Council, with only Russia and China voting yes and the remaining 13 members abstainin…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n