The UN General Assembly votes Thursday on a resolution calling for a “just and lasting” peace in Ukraine, a text that Kiev and its allies hope to see the broadest support against Moscow, on the eve of the entry of the conflict in its second year.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez traveled to Ukraine on Thursday to show his support, a year after the Russian invasion, after US President Joe Biden on Monday and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday.
“I am back in Kyiv, one year after the start of the war. We will stand with Ukraine and its people until peace returns to Europe,” he tweeted. The day before, Madrid had announced the donation of six Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine.
For their part, the G7 finance ministers will try to agree Thursday in Bangalore, India, on a new package of economic sanctions against Moscow, before a meeting Friday and Saturday of the G20 to discuss measures to deal with the economic effects of war and possible debt relief for the poorest countries. India, the host country of the G20, did not condemn the invasion.
At the UN podium on Wednesday, the first of two days of debates devoted to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba launched: “I appeal to you: it is a decisive moment to show support, unity and solidarity.”
“Never in recent history has the line between good and evil been so clear. One country just wants to survive. The other wants to kill and destroy,” he added.
Ukraine and its allies hope that the non-binding text will obtain at least as many votes as in October when 143 countries voted for the resolution condemning the annexations of several Ukrainian territories by Russia.
The draft resolution “stresses the need to achieve, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations”.
It reaffirms the “attachment” to “the territorial integrity of Ukraine”, “demands” the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces, and calls for a “cessation of hostilities”.
A peace that the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, called for when he castigated on Wednesday “the affront to our collective conscience” represented by the invasion of Ukraine.
“The possible consequences of the escalation of the conflict are a clear danger and already there,” he said, referring in particular to nuclear risks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed this week to “methodically” continue his offensive in Ukraine, in a speech with anti-Western rhetoric reminiscent of the Cold War.
Its ambassador to the UN Vassili Nebenzia also attacked Westerners on Wednesday at the General Assembly. “In their desire to inflict defeat on Russia in any way possible, it is not only Ukraine they can sacrifice, they are prepared to plunge the whole world into the abyss of war,” he said. he accused.
This conflict is not a question of “the West against Russia”, replied the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell. “This illegal war concerns everyone: North, South, East and West”.
The three resolutions related to Russian aggression passed by the General Assembly over the past year have received between 140 and 143 votes in favor, with five countries systematically voting against (Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea) and less than 40 abstaining.
A slightly different fourth in April, which suspended Russia from the Human Rights Council, was less consensual (93 votes for, 24 against, 58 abstentions).
For its part, Beijing, which abstained during the UN votes on Ukraine, tried on Wednesday to play mediator by presenting to Moscow its vision for the “political settlement” of the conflict.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was received at the Kremlin after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“The Chinese partners shared with us their thoughts on the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, as well as their approaches to its political settlement,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said after the talks.
“There was no question of a separate (peace) plan,” he noted, however.
The day before, Mr. Putin had made an impression by announcing the suspension of the New Start nuclear disarmament treaty signed in 2010, the last bilateral agreement of its kind binding Russians and Americans.
US President Joe Biden twice called the move a “serious mistake” on Wednesday but said he “sees no” evidence that the Russian president is “considering using nuclear weapons or anything like that.” “.
On the military side, the boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has issued an unprecedented appeal, urging the Russians to pressure the army to provide ammunition to his men on the front line in the battle for the city of Bakhmout (Eastern Ukraine).
This declaration illustrates the extent of the tensions between the mercenaries and the Russian general staff on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the Russian offensive, now bogged down in the face of resistance from Ukrainians reinforced by Western military aid.
02/23/2023 10:07:01 – United Nations (United States) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP