United Nations/New Delhi: India on Wednesday abstained on a vote in the UN Security Council on a draft resolution moved by Russia on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. While Russia and China voted in favour of the resolution, India along with the UAE was among 13 countries that abstained. The draft resolution failed to get adopted. The draft resolution by Russia was cosponsored by Syria, North Korea and Belarus. It failed to get adopted as it did not get the required nine yes votes to pass. China was the only country in the UNSC which was willing to vote for the Russia-drafted resolution that did not assign blame for Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis. Russia’s representative to the UN said that Moscow’s draft resolution had key elements to call for a ceasefire and address the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, and accused the Council delegations for refusing to vote in favor for political reasons. The Russian representative criticized the US and UK for politicizing the humanitarian issue rather than provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. China said the UNSC should play its role in the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and pointed to Beijing’s six point initiative. It said that UNSC should encourage an immediate ceasefire. China’s representative said its vote in favor was a call to the international community to prioritize the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.. China said the long-term solution was to abandon “Cold War mentality”, “refrain from bloc confrontations” and establish a balanced regional security architecture. UNI RN
