admin
Konstantin
Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council
Against the backdrop of Western and Ukrainian fanfare over the results of the UN vote on the anti-Russian resolution, which is designed to demonstrate the “unity of the world” against Russia, I would note its indicativeness in a completely different sense.
The “unanimity” generated by the incredible efforts of the United States and the entire West is in fact a vivid illustration of what kind of world order has led the current system to a dead end.
It is only in football that only the score matters. In politics, everything is thinner. The pressure on the UN states and their delegations was unprecedented, absolutely undisguised and, I would even say, demonstrative.
First of all, through blatant procedural machinations, the Westerners achieved an open vote in order to avoid an objective picture of world preferences.
This is a very important indicator that the United States is afraid of the real opinion of the world community. Each vote was to be cast only “under the gun” of Washington.
At the same time, the day before, US Secretary of State E Blinken and his Deputy V Nuland held a virtual meeting on the upcoming vote in the UN General Assembly on a resolution on Ukraine with 165 diplomats representing more than 100 countries in Washington, where, presumably, the permanent representatives were explained “on the fingers”, why those need to vote “as it should” by all means.
As Blinken said ahead of the vote, “Now is not the time to abstain, use soothing words, or shirk under the guise of neutrality.”
In other words, even quite legitimate attempts by delegations to abstain from voting or to declare neutrality were announced by Washington as an excuse to “take on a pencil” those who suddenly decide to “play sovereignty”.
The fears were not in vain: according to the calculations of the International Crisis Group, during speeches at the high-level week of the UN General Assembly in late September, representatives of 92 countries did not mention the Ukrainian conflict at all or did not name Russia as a party to it.
That is, for at least half of the states of the planet, the collective anguish of the West about “cruel, perfidious, inhuman”, etc. Russia is simply irrelevant.
But they also “worked” with the voters in a targeted way: Politico wrote that European, American and Ukrainian diplomats staged a real “hunt for votes” on the sidelines of the UN. The State Department compiled a spreadsheet in which they entered all countries, except for those who previously voted against — apparently those are considered hopelessly sovereign.
The tablet indicated what kind of contacts someone has with this or that country and how to use them. Personal meetings, phone calls, WhatsApp correspondence, general mailing were used. Members of the US Congress were also involved in the persuasion, and the campaigners were offered “quid pro quo” schemes and other “gifts”.
As noted in the Russian permanent mission to the UN, at least 40 countries could not withstand the pressure. “What many of them, apologising, openly admitted to us on the eve of the vote,” as our deputy representative D Polyansky said.
This is, of course, not the first time this has happened. At one time, Donald Trump openly admitted this: they, they say, “take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us. Well, we’re watching these voices. Let them vote against us. We will save a lot,” the former head of the White House said in 2017.
It is naive to believe that they thought and acted like this only under Trump.
Of course, the results of the vote are not at all an indicator of the anti-Russian unity of the world, but a clear confirmation of the power of the United States in putting pressure on the states of the world. Which, in fact, deprives small states of the right to act in accordance with their interests.
However, a world in which it is more expensive to oppose the global “master” objectively cannot suit the majority of countries. Because democracy has become — let’s pay tribute, by the way, to the countries of the West — the choice for the vast majority of peoples. And their rights are no less important than the rights of individuals.
In the DPR, LPR, in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, people under Ukrainian shelling voted against those who imposed their will on them by force. But in the UN, freedom of expression has not yet become a reality.
Of course, we understand all those who could not vote honestly under these conditions. But we are fighting to ensure that this situation is no longer the norm.
Democracy will definitely win.
Online Reporter