The United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and Georgia have blocked a Russia-drafted UN General Assembly resolution calling for solidarity and global sanctions relief in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Russia's permanent mission to the organization
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd April, 2020) The United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and Georgia have blocked a Russia-drafted UN General Assembly resolution calling for solidarity and global sanctions relief in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Russia's permanent mission to the organization.
In late March, Russia has put forward a draft declaration of the UN member states on solidarity in countering the spread of COVID-19. Among other things, the document insisted on the need to assist the most vulnerable nations, especially developing countries, and end trade wars and all sanctions adopted without a UN Security Council mandate to ensure access to food and medication. Twenty-eight other countries co-sponsored the resolution.
"As it is known, our document failed to be adopted by consensus. Ukraine, Georgia, UK, US, and EU prevented it. We regret that a small group of states championing sanctions-based policy appeared unready to respond to the call of the UN Secretary-General and refused to cast aside politicized approaches and interests," the Russian mission said, following the vote late on Thursday.
This step, the mission went on, indicates that "it will be much more difficult to give a global and solidary response to the threat of the new pandemic," which may affect many people, especially in developing countries.
"We would be very interested to hear and see in writing reasoning and arguments for blocking our draft Declaration by the EU, US and UK. We would be willing and happy to spare and exempt Ukraine and Georgia from undertaking this exercise, as their arguments, as ever contemptuous and politicized, would not add any value to the understanding by most of the Member-States," the statement said.
The mission noted that Russia would continue coordination on the issue with like-minded countries and expressed hope that all the interested nations would join the call for cooperation in the face of the pandemic.
The vote in the UN General Assembly took place on Thursday. The same day, the number of people infected with the coronavirus globally surpassed 1 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. Of these, more than 53,000 have died.
