India on Friday abstained from a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote to condemn Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian territories in light of the “totality of the evolving situation,” saying it remains opposed to the “escalation of rhetoric and tensions.”
India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Ruchira Kamboj, said it is necessary for Russia and Ukraine to “return to the negotiating table.” She also reiterated India’s continued commitment to the “UN Charter, international law, and respect for sovereignty and the territorial integrity of all states.”
Nevertheless, Kamboj stressed that India is “deeply disturbed” by the developments in Ukraine, saying diplomatic solutions cannot be achieved “at the cost of human lives.” Furthermore, she called on both sides to immediately end violence and hostilities, emphasising that dialogue and diplomacy are the “only answer.”
#IndiainUNSC 🇮🇳
— India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) September 30, 2022
“Dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes, however daunting that may appear at this moment. The path to #peace requires us to keep all channels of diplomacy open..”@MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy @IndiainUkraine pic.twitter.com/2mO54MkhcX
She repeated Narendra Modi’s message to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Uzbekistan last month when he said “today’s era is not of war,” a point that was also made by Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during his address at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) last week.
Despite India’s condemnation of the hostilities and casualties, this is its ninth abstention from a UN vote against Russia.
In February, it abstained from a UNSC vote calling on Russia to end its military invasion of Ukraine.
Likewise, in April, it abstained from a vote calling for Russia’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council.
India resisted significant pressure from Western countries, particularly the United States (US) and members of the European Union, to publicly condemn Russia and suspend Russian energy and defence imports.
Nevertheless, the US’ Permanent Representative to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, clarified that India’s decision to abstain from the vote would not impact India-US relations, as it had criticised the invasion in its address in the UNSC.
She also dismissed concerns about India’s perceived “neutrality” in the face of war crimes, saying abstention is neither “a defence” nor an indication of “support” for Russia. In this regard, she noted that “Not a single country voted with Russia. Not one.”
The UNSC resolution was introduced by the United States and Albania to condemn Russia’s “illegal referenda” and its annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, which account for 15% of Ukraine’s territory.
The resolution called the “so-called referenda” an “illegal” attempt to “modify Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders.” It noted that the regions in question had been captured by Russia through a “full-scale invasion” that violated Ukraine’s “sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity.”
This sounds very scary.
— Mzwanele Manyi (@MzwaneleManyi) September 29, 2022
President Putin is not mincing his words. pic.twitter.com/DEhBkhV0Bl
Apart from India, China, Brazil, and Gabon also abstained from voting on the resolution. Meanwhile, Russia used its veto power as a permanent UNSC member to reject the motion.
In fact, China, too, appears to have expressed some misgivings about Russia’s war in recent weeks. During a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping along the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit last month, Putin acknowledged Beijing’s “questions and your concerns” about the war.
The US vowed to approach the UNGA to address the referenda and annexations. However, unlike a UNSC resolution on the matter, any decision by the UNGA will not be binding.
The international community has condemned the annexation and referenda as a farcical practice by the Russian government. However, Russia maintains that the annexed regions had voted to be a part of Russia.
After the referenda from 23 to 27 September, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that “any annexation of a State’s territory by another State resulting from the threat or use of force is a violation of the Principles of the UN Charter and international law.”
To this end, he reiterated that Russia’s decision to annex the four Ukrainian regions has “no legal value and deserves to be condemned.”
In addition, he declared that the referenda and annexation could not be “reconciled with the international legal framework.” Condemning the decision, he called Russia’s action a “dangerous escalation” that “must not be accepted.”