By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Russia has urged UN nations to vote against an “unbalanced and anti-Russian” move by Ukraine and others in the General Assembly to celebrate a year since invading Moscow, as China said on Tuesday it could publish a “position paper” on the war within days.
The 193-strong UN General Assembly is scheduled to vote later this week on a draft resolution “emphasizing the need to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace as soon as possible” in line with the United Nations’ founding charter.
Ukraine and its supporters are hoping to deepen Russia’s diplomatic isolation by seeking a yes vote from nearly three-quarters of the General Assembly to match – if not better – the support it received for several resolutions over the past year.
The draft text again provides that the General Assembly will ask Moscow to withdraw its troops and demand a cessation of hostilities. General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry political weight.
“Even the eventual cessation of hostilities without a clear incentive for meaningful negotiations and addressing the issues that led to the crisis will not bring a lasting solution,” Russia’s Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, wrote in a letter to UN member states on Monday , seen by Reuters.
“There is no mention of ‘dialogue’ or ‘negotiation,'” he said of the draft. “If the text remains as unbalanced and anti-Russian as it is now, we ask member states to vote against it.”
CHINA’S “POSITION PAPER”
A peace plan proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last year calls for restoring territorial integrity and urging Russia to reaffirm it under the UN charter, which Zelenskyy said is “non-negotiable.”
It also calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops and the cessation of hostilities.
Russian ally Belarus on Tuesday proposed amendments to a draft UN resolution seen by Reuters, including “preventing further escalation of the conflict by supplying the parties with deadly weapons.” Diplomats say they are unlikely to pass.
The United States and its allies have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in weapons. The United States has accused Iran and North Korea of supplying arms to Russia and said on Saturday it was concerned China was considering providing “deadly aid” to Russia.
China said Monday the United States was unable to make demands on Beijing. China and Russia announced a borderless partnership shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine.
China’s ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, told reporters on Tuesday that China is expected to release a “position paper” on Ukraine within a few days, which “will mainly reflect China’s consistent positions on the issue.”
“We never called it a peace plan. His position paper,” Zhang said. “We will continue to emphasize respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. We emphasize that countries should consider each other’s security concerns.”
“Mainly we will call for peace, dialogue and a peaceful solution,” he said.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Michael Perry)
