'Talks only way out', India abstains on UN resolution; Ukraine Prez dials PM Modi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 26

India abstained from voting at the UN Security Council on a US-led resolution criticising Russia while Moscow resumed its offensive from all directions after a pause on Friday.

Central Kyiv was quiet on Saturday but fighting on the city’s outskirts suggested that small Russian units were trying to clear a path for the main forces. Britain’s defence ministry estimated that the bulk of the Russian forces were about 30 km from downtown Kyiv.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his support hours after India had joined China and the UAE in absenting from the UNSC vote. On the other hand, Russia “highly” appreciated India’s “independent and balanced” position on the UN Security Council resolution.

Several Opposition leaders, including Shashi Tharoor of the Congress and Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi, criticised the government for abstaining from voting, saying India needed to “stand up against the wrong and not stand aside”.

Ukrainian MPs said Zelenskyy was no longer in Kyiv but had relocated to a city in western Ukraine. His aides said the Ukrainian President was not averse to negotiating a ceasefire with Russia, but he was also not ready to accept ultimatums or unacceptable conditions.

A refugee crisis was developing on Ukraine’s borders as people fled cities as over one lakh of its citizens have gathered on the land borders, besides a large number of foreigners fleeing the country. In Washington, US President Joe Biden released an additional $350 million worth of weapons, which is over and above the $1 billion worth of military hardware supplied to Ukraine. India joined China in abstaining on a US-sponsored UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution on Friday night that sought to strongly condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The resolution did not pass as Russia, a Permanent Member of UNSC, vetoed the resolution which received 11 votes in favour and three abstentions by India, China and the UAE.

“By abstaining, India retained the option of reaching out to relevant sides in an effort to bridge the gap and find the middle ground with an aim to foster dialogue and diplomacy,” said India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador TS Tirumurti in India’s ‘Explanation of Vote’.

“India is deeply disturbed by the recent turn of developments in Ukraine. We urge that all efforts are made for the immediate cessation of violence and hostilities. Welfare and security of Indian community, in particular stranded students and their evacuation from Ukraine, is the immediate priority,” underlined the Indian diplomat.

The veto may not end matters at the UN as about 50 countries led by the US in a joint statement condemned Russia’s “abuse of power”. They declared, “We will be taking this matter to the General Assembly, where the Russian veto does not apply and the nations of the world will continue to hold Russia accountable.”

India also said “dialogue was the only answer to settling differences and disputes, however daunting that may appear at the moment”.

The UNSC draft resolution was piloted by the US and Albania and co-sponsored by several other nations.

New Delhi was courted by both sides ahead of the vote. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to Indian leaders and in a statement, the Russian Charge d’Affaires Roman Babushkin had hoped that India would stand by Russia at the UNSC.

Separately, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wanted “India to use all influence in its relations with Russia to force it to cease military aggression against Ukraine and support the UNSC draft resolution”.

The US had anticipated the Russia veto and had said a day earlier that in doing so, Russia would underscore its “isolation”. An earlier draft of the resolution had proposed moving the resolution under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which provides for armed action by the Security Council. However, this was dropped in the final version that was put to vote.

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