From the rostrum of the UN General Assembly, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on the world community to condemn Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. Russia has launched a brutal attack on the international peace order, Burbock said on Tuesday, March 1, in New York at a special session of the UN General Assembly. “This war is not only about Ukraine, not only about Europe, but also about all of us. The war unleashed by Russia marks the beginning of a new era, a turning point,” said the head of the German Foreign Ministry.
Burbock urged UN member states to support a resolution strongly condemning Russia’s attack on a neighboring country and demanding an immediate end to the violence. According to her, the international community must make a choice between “peace and aggression, justice and the right of the strong, action and ignoring.” “Today we must unite in the struggle for peace,” said the German politician.
The head of the German Foreign Ministry accused Russia of justifying the attack on Ukraine with “blatant lies”, and, addressing the members of the UN General Assembly, noted that “almost every country has a larger and stronger neighbor”, as in the case of Ukraine and Russia, therefore the current war concerns everyone. As Burbock said to Russia, “You say that your actions are necessary self-defense, but the whole world watched you for months assembling troops (at the Ukrainian borders. – Ed.) to prepare this attack.”
Resolution on Russian attack on Ukraine to be voted on March 3
The current special session of the UN General Assembly was convened on the initiative of the United States and Albania and opened on March 1. In total, during the existence of the UN, special sessions were convened ten times, the last – in 1997 in connection with the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
It is expected that a resolution on Russian aggression against Ukraine will be presented at the special session. Last week, Russia blocked a UN Security Council resolution condemning the attack on Ukraine. Voting on the relevant resolution in the UN General Assembly may take place as early as March 3. Russia has no veto power here. Western countries hope that during this vote, a majority of the 193 UN member states will condemn the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
In 2014, the UN General Assembly condemned the Russian annexation of Crimea. Then the resolution was approved by 100 countries, 11 voted against and 58 countries abstained. Resolutions of the UN General Assembly are not legally binding.
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