India, China abstain from UN vote demanding Russia to 'immediately' withdraw from Ukraine – India Today
India and China have abstained from voting in the United Nations General Assembly on a resolution demanding that Russia immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine.
The resolution, which was adopted by a majority of 64 votes in favour, with 27 abstentions, called on all parties to take all necessary measures to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The resolution was proposed by Ukraine and backed by the United States, Canada, Australia and the European Union.
India and China, two of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, abstained from voting in the General Assembly.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin, said that India’s abstention was based on the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.
He said that India had consistently supported the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine and that it had also called for a political solution to the conflict.
China, which has traditionally been close to Russia, also abstained from the vote. Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi said that his country was committed to the territorial integrity of Ukraine and supported a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
However, he said that the resolution was not in line with the spirit of the Minsk Agreement, which was signed in February 2015 to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
The resolution was strongly opposed by Russia, which said that the resolution was an attempt to interfere in its internal affairs.
The resolution comes at a time when the conflict in eastern Ukraine has intensified in recent weeks, with both sides accusing each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.
The resolution is the latest in a series of UN resolutions calling for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.
It remains to be seen if the resolution will have any impact on the ground or if it will be ignored by all the parties involved in the conflict.
