Ukraine: India weighs its options as Russia, West come up with parallel resolutions

NEW DELHI:India's position on the Ukraine crisis will be put under a microscope again by its Western partners later this week with the UNGA likely to meet and vote on a resolution brought by France and Mexico on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Ukraine. UNGA President Abdulla Shahid announced he will convene the emergency special session of the General Assembly on Wednesday following a letter from 22 countries.
The government is yet again faced with a difficult choice with France and others looking to mention Russia's invasion in a draft resolution on the humanitarian situation and to deplore Russian shelling and airstrikes.The UNGA meeting will come in the middle of renewed pressure from the West on India to change its voting pattern.
Russia, meanwhile, has come up with its own resolution on the humanitarian situation in ukraine in the Security Council and also sought a vote on it.
India has so far abstained from voting on resolutions against Russia in GA, Security Council and also in UN Human Rights Council. While US President Joe Biden said Monday India has been "somewhat shaky" in dealing with the Russian aggression, the French ambassador to India, Emmanuel Lenain sought support from India in an interview to ToI earlier this month saying was important India's vote in UN matched its words.
India has not condemned Russia’s "special military operation" in Ukraine even though it has repeatedly underscored the need for all to respect the UN Charter, international law and also sovereignty and territorial integrity. While India is itself providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and continues to express concern about the situation there, any condemnation of Russia in the resolution could again act as a deal-breaker for India.
France and Mexico were earlier planning to bring the resolution on humanitarian situation in the UNSC but finally decided against it fearing it would run into Russian veto. While not legally binding, a UNGA resolution backed by a vast majority is still seen by the West as a handy tool to isolate Russia. The last UNGA resolution deploring Russia’s actions was backed by 141 countries in the 193-member body. India was among the 35 that abstained.
An AP report quoted the France-Mexico draft resolution as saying saying the dire humanitarian consequences of Russia's aggression in Ukraine are on a scale that the international community has not seen in Europe in decades. It deplores "Russia's shelling, airstrikes and besiegement of densely populated cities, particularly the southern city of Mariupol".
The report also said that there was a divide in the UN with South Africa coming up with a counter resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine without naming Russia in it. This resolution also calls for immediate cessation of hostilities.
Russia, meanwhile, has continued to compliment India for not joining the "the closely-knit Western clique" and pursuing its own strategic interests even though Russian ambassador Denis Alipov said earlier this week Moscow would like more "pronounced support" from India. "But nevertheless, it sticks to this neutral path, precisely because it is pursuing a policy of strategic autonomy that the Indian leadership has repeatedly voiced," Alipov told TASS news agency.