Armenia to abstain from voting on UN General Assembly’s resolution on Ukraine- spokesman
26.03.2014,
18:16
Armenia will abstain from voting on Thursday when the UN General Assembly is expected to vote on a draft resolution on Ukraine, Tigran Balayan, an Armenian foreign ministry spokesman, told Radio Liberty.
YEREVAN, March 26. / ARKA /. Armenia will abstain from voting on Thursday when the UN General Assembly is expected to vote on a draft resolution on Ukraine, Tigran Balayan, an Armenian foreign ministry spokesman, told Radio Liberty.
According to reports, the resolution urges all parties to pursue a peaceful resolution of the situation in Ukraine, "refrain from unilateral actions and inflammatory rhetoric that may increase tensions, and to engage fully with international mediation efforts."
The document affirms the General Assembly's "commitment to the sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders."
It also calls on all states "to desist and refrain from actions aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including any attempts to modify Ukraine's borders through the threat or use of force or other unlawful means."
The General Assembly's resolutions are not legally binding but they reflect world opinion.
In a telephone conversation on March 19, Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were quoted as saying that the referendum in Crimea “constitutes another case of exercise of peoples’ right to self-determination via free expression of will.”
Ukraine responded to the statement by officially recalling its ambassador from Armenia, warning of serious damage to bilateral ties because of Armenia’s recognition of the annexation of Crimea. -0-
