Prime Minister (PM) Sher Bahadur Deuba and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine and economic development on Tuesday.
"Good call today with Nepal’s Prime Minister @SherBDeuba to discuss Russia’s unprovoked attack and our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We will continue to work closely together on economic development and regional challenges," Blinken tweeted Tuesday night.
PM Deuba also tweeted about the telephone call Wednesday morning. "Spoke with US Secretary of State @SecBlinken and discussed Nepal's poverty alleviation, development & issue of climate change. We appreciate 75 years of continued US support for our progress. We also discussed Russia's invasion of Ukraine & our support for Ukraine's sovereignty," the tweet states.
Blinken called Deuba just two days after Nepal ratified the the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact with the interpretative declaration on Sunday. Spokesperson at the US Department of State Edward Price confirmed that Blinken also discussed about recently ratified MCC Comapct with PM Deuba.
"He (Blinken) also highlighted that this marks 75 years of the United States and Nepal’s diplomatic relations and noted that Nepal’s decision to move forward with the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC) would allow the electricity transmission and roads project to create jobs, infrastructure, and improve the lives of the Nepali people," Price said about the conversation. "The Secretary agreed to strengthen efforts to build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic and work toward addressing the climate crisis."
Nepal has already slammed the Russian attack on Ukraine pointing that everyone should respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of another country.
Issuing a statement just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered military operation on Ukraine on February 24, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called on all parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint not to escalate tension.
"As a member of the United Nations, Nepal views that the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity as enshrined in the UN Charter are sacrosanct and must be fully respected by all member states," the statement stated.
"Recognition of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent entities goes contrary to the provisions of the UN Charter. Nepal opposes any use of force against a sovereign country in any circumstance and believes in peaceful resolution of disputes through diplomacy and dialogue."
Nepal also voted in support of the Ukraine-related vote at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Monday to hold an urgent debate on Ukraine that will also consider a resolution for a probe into alleged human rights violations.
The vote was passed with 29 out of the Council’s 47 members voting in favour, while 13 countries, including India, abstained. The five countries that voted against the request for an urgent debate were Russia, China, Eritrea, Cuba and Venezuela.
Besides India, other nations that abstained were Armenia, Gabon, Cameroon, Kazakhstan, Mauritania, Namibia, Pakistan, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.
(This news report has been updated with quotes of Spokesperson at the US Department of State Edward Price after first publication)
