India, along with two other Asian nations, China and the United Arab Emirates, were the only countries to vote no on a procedural resolution on Sunday to have the 193-member United Nations General Assembly take up the Russian invasion of Ukraine at an emergency meeting.
Russia's dissenter had no veto authority, and it was supported by 11 members of the 15-member Council from Europe, the Americas, and Africa. The last time the Council called for an emergency meeting of the Assembly was in 1982, when the United States rejected a resolution criticising Israel's occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights.
The United Nations General Assembly will convene for an emergency session on Monday at 10 a.m. local time (8.30 p.m. in India) to consider a resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and demanding that it withdraw its troops immediately, which Russia vetoed in the Security Council on Friday.
In January, India abstained on a procedural vote, and on Friday, it abstained on the resolution. "It is regrettable that the situation in Ukraine has worsened more since the council last convened on this matter," India's Permanent Representative T.S. Tirumirti said.
"We reiterate our plea for a stop to all hostilities and an immediate cessation of violence. There is no other option than to return to the diplomatic and conversation road "he said.
Tirumurti claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "strongly endorsed" this path of diplomacy when he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelentsky on Saturday. The US has proposed that India and other nations with weight with Moscow use their clout to urge Moscow to stop the invasion.
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