PM defends SVG’s abstention from UN vote condemning Russia

By Kenton X. Chance

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (CMC) — Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has defended his government’s abstention from a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) vote on Monday condemning Russia as the aggressor in the 3-year-old war with Ukraine.

He said that rather than focusing on St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ (SVG) abstention, the headline should have been that Russia and the United States had voted the same way at the UN for the first time since the fight began.

Gonsalves said there had been six such votes at the UNGA, with four of them specifically denouncing Russia as an aggressor, and Kingstown voted in support of each of those four.

Those votes were held on March 3, 2022, March 24, 2022, October 2022 and February 2023.

“And in each of those, the United States of America was among the countries which was proposing the resolutions. The war is three years old now, there’s a different context, and some negotiations taking place,” Gonsalves said.

CARICOM countries Monday adopted opposing positions on the war in Ukraine as member countries of the United Nations adopted a resolution on the third anniversary of Russia’s military invasion.

CARICOM had in February 2022, issued a statement “strongly” condemning the military attacks and invasion of Ukraine by Russia and called “for the immediate and complete withdrawal of the military presence and cessation of any further actions that may intensify the current perilous situation in that country”.

On Monday, 93 countries voted in support of a nonbinding resolution condemning Russia as the aggressor in the ongoing war in Ukraine. The European-backed resolution, which does not carry any enforcement, still passed overwhelmingly and is meant as a global vote of solidarity against Russia’s unprovoked attack on its neighbour and continued aggression.

The CARICOM countries that voted in support of the resolution are Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

Grenada and SVG joined 65 countries in abstaining while Haiti was among 18 countries including the United States that voted against the resolution.

None of the CARICOM countries that either voted against or abstained on Monday gave a reason for their position. Dominica was recorded as being absent when the vote was taken.

The US also abstained from voting on its own competing resolution after the Europeans, led by France, succeeded in amending it to make clear Russia was the aggressor.

Gonsalves said two resolutions appeared before the United Nations with one “advancing a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine” being proposed by Ukraine and other European countries.

He said the resolution contained “strong language against Russia, but there’s a different context.

“The war is now 3 years old, a lot of people are dying, lot of blood and treasure, and the new US administration is seeking to have the conversations with Russia…”

Gonsalves said Ukraine will be involved in that conversation also “but everybody acknowledges that because the US is the principal one who was supplying the arms from NATO to Ukraine, that look, Russia and the United States, if they get together to talk, obviously, they can’t come to a peace agreement without Ukraine”.

The SVG prime minister said it is “Ukraine country”, adding, “everybody acknowledges that but the two major powers in this thing having a conversation, so there’s a different context.

“Are you going to beat your chest, or are you going to — I know it’s the third anniversary of this particular war, the 22nd of February — or are you going to have a framework which will try and keep the tensions down and push for peace?”

Gonsalves said the second resolution tabled by the United States was also tabled before the United Nations Security  Council.

“In the morning at the General Assembly, whatever resolution is passed is non-binding. The resolution at the United Nations Security Council is the binding one…” he said, adding that the general assembly amended the US resolution.

Gonsalves said there were three sets of amendments by European countries and one set by the Russians.

The prime minister noted the history of Kingstown’s voting in the matter, adding, normally the Europeans and the Americans would be on the same page.

“This time, they are on a different page. And the US submitted a different resolution,” he said, adding that it was amended by the UNGA and passed in the afternoon at the Security Council.

“And the reason why it passed the afternoon is because when Europeans tried to amend it at the Security Council, Russia vetoed the amendments. So the resolution as there presented by the US passed the Security Council, 10 votes in favour and five abstentions.”

Gonsalves said the five who abstained were France, Britain, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia, adding that France and Britain are permanent members of the Security Council.

“They could have vetoed. But France and Britain decided that they ain’t going veto. They just abstained, because if they vetoed, the tensions between them and America would have been higher.”

He said his government knew that this resolution was going to the Security Council in the afternoon and had anticipated that this would pass because amendments would be vetoed.

“The General Assembly is a beauty contest vote. The one in the Security Council as binding and we also anticipated that Britain and France will not veto,” the prime minister said, pointing out that his government did not vote against the European Union’s Ukraine resolution, opting to abstain.

He noted in that resolution that passed, the US referred to the “Ukraine conflict” and did not call it an “invasion” or “special operation” and called for lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.

“In other words, they have been discussions about peace.  This is what the American say they want: no set of denunciations, just the affirmation of some principles with peace and security, peaceful settlement of disputes and to bring a swift end.”

He said that the European put three amendments to the US resolution and there were different votes on these amendments.

“Basically, those amendments were talking about full-scale invasion, the amendment talking about reforming territorial integrity, sovereignty and the like, and just and lasting, comprehensive peace; different formulation.

“If I go through every single one of them, I’ll confuse you more than I probably have confused you already. I’m trying to keep it to the essentials,” Gonsalves said, adding that from 2023 to 2025, the European Union’s resolutions were getting around 143 votes.

“And I with them all the time; we with them all the time. But there’s a different context. Both with the amount of killing we have had, the thrust to peace now with President Trump and President Putin and what going up in the afternoon, and the Security Council.”

Gonsalves noted that ambassadors advise their capitals and seek instruction on how to vote.

He noted that SVG and Grenada were the two CARICOM countries that voted abstention while. Dominica was not present for the vote.

“But the headline story on this, for the first time, both the United States and Russia voted together. That should be the headline story. … but on that, we abstained, and an abstention is suggesting, well, we don’t really like what is happening, but we should give the peace a chance; Don’t stir the pot a little too much.”

Gonsalves said that the number of countries that voted in support of the resolution fell from between 141 and 143 to 93 and the abstentions increased to 65 even as the no’s, which used to be about seven, is now 18.