India abstains from UN vote against Russia.

India abstains from UN vote against Russia.

The draft resolution, 'Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine', introduced by Ukraine was adopted Monday in the 193-member UN General Assembly .

73 countries including India abstained from voting to hold Moscow accountable for the conflict in Ukraine. The war had caused huge loss to human lives and crisis. But India has a long standing friendship with Russia. It seems India doesn't want to leave this bond at any cost. India’s permanent member to UN, Ruchira Kamboj doubted about the legal validity of such UNGA ( United Nations General Assembly ) votings. Since it is not an era of war, India wants to abstain from taking diplomatic solutions. It wants to strive for a peaceful solution through dialogue and diplomacy. Ms Kamboj reiterated that India has consistently advocated that no solution can ever be arrived at the cost of human lives.

India, in its explanation of vote after the draft was adopted, questioned whether a reparation process would contribute towards efforts at resolving the conflict and cautioned against precedents being set through such resolutions.

Out of 193 members , 94 voted in favor of the resolution, 14 voted against it, 73 abstained including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Israel, Nepal, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Those voting against the resolution were Belarus, China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Russia and Syria.India has mostly abstained on resolutions related to the Russia-Ukraine war in the UN, including in the Security Council, General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.

Ms Kamboj stressed that India's approach to the Ukraine conflict will continue to be people-centric. India is providing both humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and economic support to some of its neighbors in the Global South under economic distress, even as they stare at the escalating costs of food, of fuel and of fertilizers - which has been a consequential fall out of the ongoing conflict.

Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said if the resolution comes to be adopted, "it will entail systemic consequences for the UN activities." 

Ms Kamboj said India continues to remain concerned over the situation in Ukraine. The conflict has resulted in the loss of lives and misery for its people, particularly for the women, children and elderly, with millions becoming homeless and forced to take shelter in neighboring countries, she said and termed reports of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure "deeply worrying."