India now abstains from voting on Russian resolution in UN

New York, Mar 24: Maintaining its neutral stance, India on Wednesday abstained from voting on a Russian-drafted resolution in the UN Security Council over the humanitarian situation going on in Ukraine. Notably, this resolution was widely criticized as it did not mention its invasion of Ukraine.

 

 

India and UAE joined the West in abstaining from the resolution that failed at the UNSC meeting with only Russia and China voting in favour and the remaining 13 members abstaining. Other security council members made statements after the vote on the resolution which India skipped

 

 

 

The resolution demanded that civilians, including humanitarian personnel and persons in vulnerable situations, including women and children should be fully protected. It also called for a negotiated ceasefire so that the evacuation of civilians could be carried out unhindered.

 

 

With India abstaining from voting on a Russian-drafted resolution in UN, it has clearly maintained its neutral stance. Earlier, India had received backlash from the West for not supporting Ukraine in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. It had clearly said that both the countries can resolve their issue through diplomatic talks.

 

In the past, India had abstained on two occasions for voting against Russia in the UNSC on resolutions on its invasion of Ukraine and once on a similar resolution in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). India had called for a peaceful settlement of the dispute. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

 

 

"Russia is the aggressor, the attacker the invader, the sole party in Ukraine, engaged in a campaign of brutality against the people of Ukraine. And they want us to pass a resolution that does not acknowledge their culpability," US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the UNSC.

 

"It really is unconscionable that Russia would have the audacity to put forward a resolution asking the international community to solve a humanitarian crisis that Russia alone created. If Russia cared about the humanitarian situation, it would stop bombing children and end their siege tactics. But they haven't," Britain's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward told the council after the vote.

 

 

China, the only country to support Russia by voting in favour of the resolution, stated UNSC should play its role in the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations pointed to Beijing's six-point initiative and told the Security Council members that the vote in favour was a call to the international community to prioritize the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.