UNGA calls for ceasefire as Moscow, Kyiv agree to another round of talks

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 28

Russia’s military offensive is a violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, President of the UN General Assembly Abdulla Shahid said on Monday as he called for an immediate ceasefire and full return to diplomacy and dialogue.

Shahid presided over a rare emergency special session of the 193-member UN body on Ukraine. India announced humanitarian aid for Ukraine and welcomed the first talks between Ukraine and Russia at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. The talks that lasted nearly 5 hours concluded with no immediate agreement. The two sides agreed to hold another round in coming days.

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Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the talks focused on a possible ceasefire and a second round could take place “in the near future.” India welcomed the first talks between Ukraine and Russia at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border even as the UN Security Council (UNSC) voted for an “emergency special session” of the UN General Assembly.

Ukraine sent its Defence Minister and other top officials for the talks while the Russian delegation was led by Valdimir Putin’s adviser on culture. The draft of the UNSC resolution, submitted by Albania and the US, got the support of 11 members. It was opposed by Russia while China, India and the UAE abstained. On Friday too, India, China and the UAE abstained from the resolution, while 11 members of the Council had voted in favour.

India also abstained from a UN Human Rights Council vote on debating Russia’s

invasion of Ukraine. While 29 voted in favour, five were against it, and 13 abstained, including Pakistan.

After Putin put his strategic forces on alert, the Russian Defence Ministry said extra personnel were deployed to the nuclear forces. The sanctions noose kept tightening around Russia and more countries announced plans to send fighters, ammunition and anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. EU Defence Ministers on Monday discussed plans to transport the pledged weaponry to Ukraine. The board of the International Olympic Committee recommended the banning of Russian and Belarusian athletes from its events while FIFA was debating the banning of Russia from its tournaments.

Noting that PM Narendra Modi has advocated the path of diplomacy and dialogue in his talks with the Russian and Ukrainian Presidents, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN TS Tirumurti said India welcomed the talks at the Belarus border.

The diplomat said India’s evacuation efforts had been adversely impacted by the complex and uncertain situation at the border crossings. It is important to maintain an uninterrupted and predictable movement of people. “It is an urgent humanitarian necessity that must be immediately addressed,” he said.

“Dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes, however daunting that may appear at this moment. It is a matter of regret that the path of diplomacy was given up. We must return to it. For all these reasons, India has chosen to abstain on this resolution,” he had said. In Moscow, Russians lined up on Monday to withdraw cash and in Kyiv, Ukrainians lined up to buy food and water.

(With PTI inputs)

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