PH votes vs Russia’s annexation of Crimea at UN
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines was among the 100 countries that voted in favor of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution that scored Russia’s annexation of Crimea and affirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
“The Philippines voted to support the resolution on Ukraine based on its principled position on sovereignty, territorial integrity, rule of law and peaceful settlement of disputes. The Philippines likewise calls on all parties to respect the UN Charter and international law,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Eleven countries voted against the nonbinding resolution while 58 abstained. The General Assembly, which has 193 member-states, conducted the voting Friday (Thursday in New York).
The resolution stated that the mid-March referendum in Crimea that led to the peninsula’s annexation by Russia “has no validity” and that the parties should “pursue immediately a peaceful resolution of the situation.”
The General Assembly called on all states, international organizations and specialized agencies not to recognize any alteration of the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol on the basis of the March 16 referendum “and to refrain from any action or dealing that might be interpreted as recognizing any such altered status.”
The Security Council, which is the UN’s policy-making body, earlier convened seven sessions on the situation in Ukraine. At its eighth meeting, Russia, one of the council’s permanent members, vetoed a draft resolution that would have urged countries not to recognize the results of the referendum in Crimea.
According to the UN news center, the resolution adopted by the assembly contained similar language, underscoring that the referendum held in Crimea has no validity and cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of Crimea or of the city of Sevastopol.
The resolution called on all states to “desist and refrain” from actions aimed at the partial or total disruption of Ukraine’s national unity and territorial integrity, “including any attempts to modify Ukraine’s borders through the threat or use of force or other unlawful means.”
The assembly resolution also made explicit reference to the primacy of the UN Charter’s call for the preservation of the unity and territorial integrity of all UN member-states, and recalled the 1994 Memorandum on Security Assurances in Connection with Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the 1997 Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and Russia, and other bilateral agreements between Ukraine and Russia.
The United States, Canada, Japan and European countries imposed sanctions on Russia following its annexation of Crimea.
Crimean authorities earlier announced that close to 97 percent of those who voted in the referendum favored joining Russia.
Subsequently, Crimea declared its independence, which in turn was recognized by Russia but rejected by the Ukrainian government. Russian President Vladimir Putin then signed a treaty with Crimean leaders making Crimea a part of Russia.
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