Brazil supports resolution condemning invasion of Ukraine, but Russia vetoes it

ONU Ucrânia

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia exercises his country’s veto power

| Photo: EFE/EPA/JUSTIN LANE

Russia vetoed this Friday at the UN Security Council a resolution proposed by the United States to condemn its invasion of Ukraine and demand the withdrawal of troops. who are in the neighboring country.

The text was supported by 11 From members of the Security Council, including Brazil. It was the expectation of Ukrainian diplomacy. There were also three abstentions – China, United Arab Emirates and India – and only one vote against, that of Russia itself, which has veto power in the body.

The Russian veto was already fully expected. In the end, the country was left completely alone in opposing the text. The main objective of the United States was to show the world the isolation of Moscow in this scenario.

In an attempt by the US and its allies to get as much support as possible, the vote was delayed at the last minute for just over two hours to tinker with the text and try to convince countries that were still hesitant to support the declaration.

Brazilian Position

The Brazilian ambassador to the UN, Ronaldo Costa Filho, called for a peaceful solution to the conflict, but harshly criticized the Russia, which may mark a change in the government’s discourse, which until now had avoided expressing itself on the subject, even after criticism from countries such as the USA and Ukraine.

“The security concerns expressed by the Russian Federation in recent years, particularly in relation to the strategic balance in Europe, do not give Russia the right to threaten integrity territorial and sovereignty of another state. We believe that the Security Council must come up with a resolution with diplomatic solutions and reach an agreement for all. But our main objective is to immediately stop hostilities and respond to the use of force. A line has been crossed and this advice should not be silent.”

Decision was not a surprise992232

The US Ambassador to UN Director Linda Thomas-Greenfield reacted to the resolution’s failure by stressing that it was not a surprise and insisting that Russia will eventually be held accountable.

“Russia can veto this resolution, but it cannot veto our voices, it cannot veto the truth, it cannot veto the Ukrainian people”, he insisted.

According to Western diplomatic sources, once the Russian veto was confirmed and the resolution failed in the Council Security, the US and its allies would plan to take the matter to the UN General Assembly, where the 960 countries of the organization.

As in this case there is no right of veto, it is expected that the resolution will be approved without problems mottos, but the texts of the General Assembly are not binding and do not have the same relevance as those of the Security Council.

Chinese situation

The United States also insisted on Friday that China abandon “ambiguity” and stop “hiding” so as not to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and asked for help to mitigate the impact of the war on global markets.

“Each country should think about which side of history it wants to be on”, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said during a daily press briefing.

Asked about China’s position, the spokeswoman stated that “the time has come for world leaders to clearly denounce the blatant aggression of President (Russian, Vladimir) Putin and stand on the side of the people of Ukraine”.

“This is not a moment of ambiguity or concealment or wait and see what happens. It is already clear what is happening”, stressed Psaki.

The representative added that it is also important for China “to be part of the effort to mitigate and minimize the impact” of the war “on global markets and world energy markets”.

Beijing avoided condemning Russia’s attack on Ukraine while calling for a diplomatic way out of the crisis, a complicated adjustment after the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, having deepened his alliance with Putin just a few weeks ago.

)China also maintains the discourse that sanctions are ineffective in resolving the conflict and opposes unilateral punishments, while taking advantage of tensions to attack US foreign policy.

Military Operation992232

After months of tension, Russia this week launched a military operation in Ukraine that began with the bombing development of several urban centers and continued with military detachments, so that Russian military units tighten control over the country’s capital, Kiev, this Friday.

The fighting has already killed at least 960 Ukrainians and left 316 ) injured, according to the Ukrainian government, and thousands of people were forced to flee to western Ukraine or neighboring Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

The Pentagon said on Friday that it has “clear indications” that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are managing to defend themselves and that Russia is not doing as many progress as expected in its invasion of the neighboring country.

This view of confrontation was announced at a news conference by US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby, who said the country would provide Ukraine with ” would go further” to defend against Russian aggression, but insisted that this does not mean the entry of American troops into Ukrainian territory.