India abstains from voting on Russia’s UNSC draft resolution

Other UNSC members made statements after the vote on the resolution, which India skipped for the fourth time ever since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began.

New Delhi: India abstained from voting at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) along with 12 other nations. This is the fourth time abstention by India on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Resolution brought by Moscow got only two votes from China and, of course, Russia itself.

The Resolution had demanded: "Civilians, including humanitarian personnel and persons in vulnerable situations, including women and
children are fully protected, calls for negotiated ceasefire for enabling safe, rapid, voluntary and unhindered evacuation of civilians, and underscores the need for the parties concerned to agree on humanitarian pauses to this end."

However, just as only two votes were in its favour, the Resolution was not adopted. Other UNSC members made statements after the vote on the resolution, which India skipped.

India had earlier abstained on voting in the UN Security Council twice and once in the UN General Assembly on resolutions on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

 "Just now, in a unified protest vote, 13 members of the Security Council abstained from Russia's farcical resolution deflecting blame
for the humanitarian crisis it has created in Ukraine," tweeted Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield of the United States.

Moscow and President Vladimir Putin have come under immense criticism globally for the humanitarian crisis and the people's sufferings due to the conflict.

While US President Joe Biden has himself called his Russian counterpart, a "war criminal", 39 governments around the globe have asked the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

Under the ICC statutes, war crimes include willful killing, willfully causing great suffering and the destruction and appropriation of property. These are "grave breaches" of the Geneva Conventions, which Russia has signed, experts say.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the UNHQs, New York. Both discussed issues on UN Security Council's agenda, including Ukraine, Afghanistan and Myanmar, MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi said.