Rutte: NATO Must Normalize Relations with Russia After War
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has stated that relations with Russia should eventually be restored after the war in Ukraine comes to an end
United Nations General Assembly has condemned Crimea's incorporation into the Russian Federation.
A US and EU-backed resolution, which was proposed by Ukraine, was approved with an overwhelming majority of 100 votes, the New York Times reported.
Only 11 voted against, but a considerable number of states, as many as 58, abstained.
The text agreed on Thursday called on the international community not to recognized changes to Ukraine's borders and to seek a diplomatic solution instead.
Russia itself is not mentioned in the document, but refers to Crimea's March 16 referendum which lead to its official incorporation into Russia, even though preparations for the move were under way well before the regional poll was held.
The resolution, though largely symbolic, expresses global attitudes toward Crimea's decision to break away from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation, as well as toward Russia's support for these actions.
Documents adopted by the UN General Assembly are not legally binding, but are the biggest step to be taken so far by the international community, as an earlier UN Security Council resolution was vetoed by UNSC permanent member Russia.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia urged support for the resolution ahead of the voting procedure, asserting that rejecting it would undermine the Un Charter.
Moscow's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, was expectedly leading the call for a "no vote", as Al Jazeera quoted him as saying that Crimean people had expressed their right to self-determination through March 16's secessionist referendum. Churkin repeated the Kremlin's stance that Crimea "was for many years an integral part of the country".
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