US stresses “international unity” on UN resolution against Russian annexations

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The U.S. Government has highlighted Wednesday the “international unity” shown at the United Nations General Assembly, which condemned Wednesday the recent “illegal” annexation of four regions of eastern Ukraine, after getting the vote in favor of 143 nations.

U.S. President Joe Biden said that “nearly eight months into this war, the world has just shown that it is more united and more determined than ever to hold Russia accountable for its violations.”

“Together with the UN General Assembly, we will not tolerate illegal attempts at annexation or the theft of a neighbor’s land by force. We will uphold international law, the UN Charter and the rights and guarantees it gives to Ukraine and its people, and to all states and peoples of the world,” the president said in a White House statement.

He also highlighted the vote in favor of the condemnation of “the overwhelming majority of the world, nations of all regions, large and small, representing a wide range of ideologies and governments.”

“What is at stake in this conflict is clear to everyone, and the world has sent a clear message in response: Russia cannot wipe a sovereign state off the map, Russia cannot change borders by force,” he has stated.

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has also shown his pride in his participation in the resolution.

“The United States is proud to have voted in favor of this resolution. As we have repeatedly said, we will uphold the principles of the UN charter and will never recognize the legitimacy of sham referendums,” Blinken said.

“With very few nations voting with Russia today, it is clear that international unity on this issue is resolute and support for Ukraine at the UN and beyond is unwavering,” the secretary of state added in a statement released by the State Department, before reiterating Washington’s support for the Ukrainian people “in defending their nation as a whole against Russian aggression.”

Hours earlier, the UN General Assembly condemned the annexation of four Ukrainian regions–Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporiyia–to Russian territory, following a series of popular consultations held under the mandate of Russian President Vladimir Putin in September.

The UN plenary has reported 143 votes in favor and only five against. The countries that have shown their support for Russia have been North Korea, Syria, Nicaragua and Belarus.

Another 35 countries have abstained, among them India, China, Cuba, Pakistan and several African nations, which have been reproached since the beginning of the war for having shown a lukewarm condemnation of Russian aggression.