New York, October 12 – The United Nations General Assembly voted 143-5 to demand that Russia “immediately and unconditionally” reverse its decision to annex four regions in Ukraine. Russia, Syria, North Korea, Nicaragua and Belarus voted against.

The number 143 countries in the 193-nation assembly was the highest voting against Russia’s war in Ukraine, which started on February 24 this year, and its decision to annex the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine on September 29.

A total of 35 countries abstained, including China, India, Pakistan, Cuba, Thailand, South Africa and Vietnam.

The resolution declares that the annexation has “no validity under international law and do not form the basis for any alteration of the status of these regions of Ukraine.”

The resolution condemns Russia for holding on September 23-27 “illegal so-called referendums in regions within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine and the attempted illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine.”

It calls on “all states, international organizations and United Nations specialized agencies not to recognize any alteration” by Russia of the status of the four regions and “to refrain from any action or dealing that might be interpreted as recognizing any such altered status.”

The adopted resolution is the fourth to be enacted by the assembly in its diplomatic efforts to end the war started by Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.

In the previous three votes in the assembly a majority of the 193 member states supported the resolution condemning the war. The vote taken on March 2 just days after fighting erupted a total of 141 countries voted to condemn while Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea voted against. A total of 35 countries abstained.

The adopted resolution on March 2 condemned “in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine” in violation of the U.N Charter and demanded that Russia withdraw immediately and cease all acts of war.

In the second and third votes, the number of countries supporting ending the war dropped while countries that abstained increased.

(By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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