Ukraine predicts ‘yes’ vote at UN on its territorial integrity
A meeting of the UN General Assembly is predicted to pass a resolution confirming Ukraine's territory and condemning the referendum in Crimea that led to Russia's annexation
Ukraine is predicting that the UN General Assembly will adopt a resolution on Thursday reaffirming the country’s territorial integrity and calling the referendum that led to Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula illegal.
Ukraine’s UN Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev said in an interview on Wednesday that the resolution has “several dozen” co-sponsors and support from democratic countries around the world – but he wouldn’t predict the size of the “yes” vote.
Russia has mounted a campaign against the resolution, claiming the dispute is an East-West issue. Sergeyev said he had been speaking to regional groups and explaining that Russia violated the UN Charter that guarantees the sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of Ukraine and that the country is not a member of any bloc.
Unlike resolutions in the powerful Security Council, resolutions in the 193-member General Assembly cannot be vetoed and are not legally binding, though they do reflect world opinion.
“The resolution will be voted in favour.”
While Ukraine has a lot of sympathy among UN members, Russia has a lot of clout and diplomats say there are likely to be a significant number of abstentions.