Source: Global Times
On the 14th local time, at the request of Canada, Guatemala, the Netherlands and Ukraine, the United Nations General Assembly convened an emergency meeting on the Ukrainian issue, and finally adopted a resolution on remedies and compensation with 94 votes in favor, 14 votes against and 73 abstentions, demanding that "Russia be held responsible for violating international law in the war", including paying reparations to Ukraine. In this regard, the Russian side reacted fiercely, and the Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Nebenja believed that this compensation resolution was a tool for Western robbery, "could not withstand legal criticism", and was "an attempt to legalize illegal things." Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in February this year, the "front" between the West and Ukraine and Russia has been launched in many fields, including international institutions such as the United Nations. On the 14th, Geng Shuang, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, pointed out in his speech that the relevant draft resolution has obvious flaws and loopholes, which is not in line with China's position and proposition.
Fourteen opposed, 73 abstained and 11 refused to vote
According to a report by the United Nations News Network on the 14th, the above resolution, titled "Advancing the provision of remedies and compensation for aggression against Ukraine", was jointly submitted by dozens of countries, including the United States. The resolution states that Russia must be held accountable for any violations of international law committed in or against Ukraine, as well as any violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and recognizes that Russia must bear the legal consequences of all its internationally wrongful acts, including compensation for injuries and damage caused by such acts. The resolution also stated the need for an "international mechanism on redress and compensation" and recommended that Member States, in cooperation with Ukraine, establish an "international register of damages" for recording evidence and claims of damage, loss or injury and for facilitating and coordinating evidence collection.
India's "Economic Times" said on the 15th that the above draft resolution was voted on by 193 member states of the United Nations. Fourteen countries, including Russia, China, Iran and Belarus, voted against and 73 countries, including India, Egypt, Israel and Pakistan, abstained. Another 11 member states refused to vote. The US Axios website reported that this is the lowest support rate among the five resolutions related to Ukraine adopted by the United Nations General Assembly since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Reuters said on the 15th that the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly is not legally binding, but has political weight.
According to the US "Washington Post" reported on the 15th, the countries that voted against said in a joint statement that the resolution has no "sufficient legal basis." States subjected to foreign intervention, colonialism, slavery, oppression, unilateral sanctions and other internationally wrongful acts should also have the right to remedy, compensation and justice, which should be addressed through sound legal procedures, the statement said.
Explaining the abstention, Aamir Khan, Pakistan's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said the proposed mechanism would be "unprecedented" to establish a mechanism that would be neither managed nor accountable to any principal UN body. Pakistan noted that many of the co-sponsors of the draft resolution had consistently opposed any discussion of an international mechanism seeking reparations for slavery and colonialism. He said that double standards in the application of international law were counterproductive. India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboy, believes that objective consideration needs to be given to whether the reparations procedure voted on by the UN General Assembly will contribute to the resolution of the conflict.
Russia reacted violently
After the adoption of the above-mentioned resolution, many senior Russian officials strongly responded back. Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Nebenja said after the vote that the West has been hoping to unfreeze sanctioned Russian assets to finance the supply of weapons to Kiev, which amount to hundreds of billions of dollars, RIA Novosti reported. The West is trying to create some illusion of legitimacy for its actions. This is naked robbery. He warned that the adoption of the resolution would only exacerbate instability and tension in the world.
Commenting on the resolution, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev said that Western countries are trying to cobble together a legal basis for the theft of illegally seized Russian assets. He called on the United Nations to adopt the same resolution, demanding that the United States fully compensate for the damage caused to North Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and other countries. "For an important international mediation institution like the United Nations, failure to do so will be the beginning of its suffering," Medvedev stressed. ”
Russian News Agency quoted Russian international law lawyer Aranibal as saying on the 15th that Russia will not pay compensation to Ukraine. In Russia, domestic law takes precedence over international law. Therefore, no one will pay these compensations.
The West continues to aid Ukraine
While Russia is being held accountable at the UN General Assembly, Western countries are also continuing to express their aid pledges to Ukraine. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrell said on the 14th: "On a bilateral basis, the EU side and EU member states have provided Ukraine with weapons worth at least 8 billion euros. He also hopes that military training missions for Ukraine will start by the end of November. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau said on the 14th that Canada will provide another 500 million Canadian dollars in military assistance to Ukraine. Russia's "Izvestia" reported on the 15th that Ukrainian Finance Minister Marchenko said that Kiev is expected to receive $7.8 billion from foreign partners in November and December.
According to the US "Political News Network" reported on the 14th, after Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, proposed that "the window for Russian-Ukrainian peace negotiations may open this winter" caused dissatisfaction among Ukrainian officials, senior officials of the Biden administration are busy giving assurances to the Ukrainian side, saying that the United States will not hinder Kiev from achieving its goals. U.S. officials also said Washington would continue to support Kiev militarily. US President Joe Biden said at a press conference held on the 14th: "We will not participate in any negotiations, nothing will happen without the participation of Ukraine." He also predicted that military conflict would "slow down" because of the coming winter.
It is worth noting that the White House said that CIA Director Burns met with Russian Foreign Intelligence Director Naryshkin in Turkey on the 14th. This is the first meeting between senior U.S. and Russian intelligence officials since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The US side insisted that the main topic of the negotiations was not to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, but to reduce the escalation of nuclear risks. Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on the 15th that the relevant meeting was proposed by the United States, but did not disclose the content of the meeting.
According to Ukrainian media reports on the 15th, air defense alarms were issued throughout Ukraine on the same day. Several explosions occurred in some parts of eastern Ukraine.