US President Joe Biden said the vote sent a “clear message” to Moscow. “The stakes of this conflict are clear to all, and the world has sent a clear message in response – Russia cannot wipe a sovereign state off the map,” he said in a statement. “Russia cannot change borders by force. Russia cannot seize another country’s territory as its own,” Biden said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was “grateful to 143 states that supported the historic UNGA. [United Nations general assembly] resolution,” tweeting: “The people have had their say – [Russia’s] Attempted annexation is useless and will never be recognized by free nations.’ Three-quarters of the 193-member general assembly – or 143 countries – voted Wednesday in favor of a resolution calling Moscow’s move illegal, deepening Russia’s international isolation. Only four countries joined Russia in voting against the resolution – Syria, Nicaragua, North Korea and Belarus. Thirty-five countries abstained, including Russia’s strategic partner China, along with India, South Africa and Pakistan. The rest did not vote. Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, said the result of the vote was “amazing”. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the vote showed international unity against Russia and reiterated that Washington would never recognize “fake” referendums. The vote “is a powerful reminder that the vast majority of nations stand by Ukraine, defending the UN Charter and in resolute opposition to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and its people,” he said in a statement. Before the vote, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, said: “Today Russia is invading Ukraine. But tomorrow it could be another nation whose territory is violated. It might be you. You could be the next one. What would you expect from this room?’ In September, Moscow declared the annexation of four partially occupied regions in Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia – after holding so-called referendums. Ukraine and allies have denounced the vote as illegal and coercive. The resolution adopted on Wednesday states that Moscow’s actions violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, are “inconsistent” with the principles of the UN Charter and “have no force under international law and are not the basis for any change of their status. regions of Ukraine”. It demands that Russia “immediately, fully and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.” It also supports “the de-escalation of the current situation and the peaceful resolution of the conflict through political dialogue, negotiation, mediation and other peaceful means” that respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and internationally recognized borders. The vote in the general assembly followed Russia’s veto last month of a similar resolution in the 15-member Security Council. Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the general assembly before the vote that the resolution was “politicized and openly provocative”, adding that it “could destroy all efforts in favor of a diplomatic solution to the crisis”. He also repeated Russia’s discredited claims that the referendums were valid, saying “the people of these regions do not want to return to Ukraine.” China abstained on Wednesday because it did not believe the resolution would be useful, said China’s deputy UN ambassador Geng Shuang. “Any action taken by the general assembly should favor the de-escalation of the situation, favor the timely resumption of dialogue and favor the promotion of a political solution to this crisis,” he said. Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s UN ambassador Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja lamented the West’s “double standards”. “We support Ukraine. We want to see the war end,” he said. “But we would like to see the international community take similar action against other situations in the world where countries are being invaded and occupied.” Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a regional summit in Kazakhstan on Thursday. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Wednesday that the Turkish president could propose ideas for peace, adding that “a very interesting and, I hope, useful discussion awaits us.”
