The UN General Assembly endorsed the “Aggression against Ukraine” resolution with 141 countries including Nepal voting in support.
Only Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea joined Russia in opposing the measure while 35 countries including Nepal's neighbors India and China abstained. Surprisingly Russia's allies Cuba and Nicaragua also abstained.
The resolution came as Russia bombarded Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv and besieged two important ports, and a huge convoy of Russian military vehicles was poised outside the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the Associated Press reported.
Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they do have clout in reflecting international opinion. Under special emergency session rules, a resolution needs approval of two-thirds of those countries voting, and abstentions don’t count.
Nepal has stood for Ukraine right from the beginning slamming the Russian invasion 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.
Prime Minister (PM) Sher Bahadur Deuba also discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during their telephone conversation on Tuesday.
(with inputs from news agencies)
