Guyana votes ‘YES’ with 140 others at UN to stop fighting in Ukraine

As expected, Guyana on Wednesday voted ‘Yes’ at the United Nations in New York with over 140 countries to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Guyana was a co-sponsor of the U.N Resolution which seeks to isolate Russia.

With 35 countries abstaining from the vote, the resolution demanded that Russia stops its offensive in Ukraine and withdraw all troops, with nations from world powers to tiny island states condemning Moscow’s actions.

To achieve this, the 193-member assembly had convened its first emergency session since 1997.

But Russia was not entirely friendless as Syria, Belarus, Eritrea and North Korea all sided with Moscow and voted ‘no’.

Other countries who spoke up for Russia during the debate included Cuba, Nicaragua and North Korea.

This resolution is similar to the one vetoed by Russia in the 15-member Security Council last Friday.

The difference now is that no country has a veto in the General Assembly and diplomats expect the resolution, which needs two-thirds support, to be adopted.

While General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, they carry political weight.

“The Government of Guyana fully supports the resolution before us,” Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana former Minister of Foreign Affairs and now Permanent Representative to the U.N said on Tuesday.

Guyana continues to deplore the threat or use of force in the conduct of international relations and urges a peaceful resolution of the differences that currently exist, in consonance with the rule of international law and the provisions of the United Nations Charter.

“The current military action in Ukraine is contrary to the principles of respect for territorial integrity, sovereignty and the non-interference in the internal affairs of another sovereign state,” Guyana asserted.

According to Rodrigues-Birkett, the aggression against Ukraine is a threat to the region and countries everywhere.

Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Moscow has pleaded “self-defence” under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

But that has been roundly rejected by Western countries who accuse Moscow of violating Article 2 of the Charter, requiring UN members to refrain from the threat or use of force to resolve a crisis.