UNITED NATIONS, Feb 28 (APP):The United Nations Security Council Sunday called for an emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Russia’s military operations against Ukraine, as western countries step up pressure on Moscow to step back.
The 193-member Assembly’s will meet on Monday to vote on the resolution which was vetoed in the 15-member Council on Monday. No country has a veto in the General Assembly. That Security Council resolution would have condemned Russia and demanded the withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine.
Sunday’s vote by the Security Council was procedural so Russia could not wield its veto. The resolution convening the General Assembly session was adopted with 11 votes in favour, Russia against, with China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining — the same result as in the Security Council.
While General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, they do carry moral and political weight.
Western countries will be looking to improve on the 100 countries who voted in favour of a General Assembly resolution in March 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region. That resolution declared invalid a referendum on the status of Crimea.
The vote will be come at the end of the emergency special session. It will only be the 11th such General Assembly session convened since 1950.
