Russia tried to influence vote of UN General Assembly on condemnation of pseudo-referendums in occupied territories of Ukraine, Britain opposed
The delegation of Great Britain opposed the initiative of representatives of the Russian Federation to make the vote for the resolution condemning "referendums" in the UN General Assembly secret.
Britain opposed the proposal of the Russian side to organize a secret vote for a resolution condemning pseudo-referendums in the occupied territories of Ukraine in the General Assembly, Censor.NET informs with reference to Reuters.
Early next week, the UN General Assembly is to vote on a draft resolution condemning "illegal so-called referendums" and "attempted illegal annexation" of Russia. It also confirms the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
In a letter to UN member states earlier this week, Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vasyl Nebenzia, lobbied for a secret ballot, arguing that "pressure from the West" may make it difficult for some countries to express their position publicly.
In response, Britain's permanent representative to the UN, Barbara Woodward, said the General Assembly's rules made it clear that a secret ballot "would go against decades of precedent and undermine the practice of the world's most representative deliberative body."
In his turn, Nebenzya proposed to submit to a separate public vote of the UN General Assembly whether to hold a secret vote for the resolution condemning "referendums".
It will be recalled that on September 20, the Russian-appointed occupation officials of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions announced that from September 23 to 27, "referendums" on joining the Russian Federation will be held in the occupied territories.
On September 28, the puppets of the Kremlin announced the results of pseudo-referendums for joining the Russian Federation. Presumably, they speak in favor of the regions joining the Russian Federation.
Against the background of the Russian Federation's statements about the recognition of the results of pseudo-referendums and the annexation of partially occupied regions, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, convened a meeting of the National Security Council.
Before the signing of the "accession agreements" on September 30, Putin made an address. He said that the Russian Federation is in the annexed territories of Ukraine "forever".
Even during Putin's speech, criticism from Western countries began to appear, and statements that the illegal annexation will not be recognized and will not change anything. New sanctions were immediately introduced by the USA, Great Britain, and Canada.
The NSDC meeting also decided to introduce a new package of restrictions against Russia. After the meeting, Ukraine's application for accelerated NATO accession was signed.
