India Doesn’t Side With Russia As It Asks For Open Vote On Albanian Bill

The country has probably refrained from using the same neutral stance in the case of Ukraine as it decided to vote for an open ballot

India might have probably taken sides after all, when it comes to siding with Russia over the secret ballot at the recent UN General Assembly meeting on a resolution to denounce its annexation of four regions of Ukraine.

The world’s second largest democracy has put its foot down and did not side with Moscow. The vote was on a bill put forward by Albania to denounce Russia’s ‘illegal so-called ‘referendums’ and ‘attempted illegal annexation’ of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.

India chose for an open recorded ballot as 106 of its other partnering member countries of the U, with just 13 nations really backing Moscow’s crazy idea. Some 39 countries have abstained from voting including Russia and China.

Although Security Council votes are binding, permanent members have a veto. While votes at the General Assembly are non-binding, there is no way for Russia to block the ballot. Once the motion to hold a recorded vote was adopted, Russia appealed against the ruling of the president of the General Assembly and sought reconsideration of the decision.

In a formal message to the media, foreign ministry has said that India continues to share cordial relations with Russia. While India had previously abstained from taking sides over the Ukraine offer, it does not seem to have wanted to use the same diplomacy in this case. India is a long-time ally of Russia that has sought to balance its position on the war to maintain trade and energy ties with Moscow but without incurring US and western sanctions.

Further, only last month, India was one of the four countries that abstained on a draft resolution at the Security Council meeting, condemning the referendum organised by Russia across the four regions inside Ukraine.