Pakistan faces dilemma on anti-Russia resolution

Pakistan’s diplomatic skills will be tested this week when the European countries will put to vote a resolution against Russia at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

In March, Islamabad abstained from voting against Russia, something that drew a strong reaction from the United States and other western countries. Pakistan joined China, India and many African countries to stay neutral.

The UNGA on Monday kicked off a special session to debate Russia’s recent attempt to annex four regions of Ukraine. The voting on the resolution is expected either on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Diplomatic sources told The Express Tribune that Pakistan was approached by the US and other western countries to seek support in favour of the resolution. The US and its allies want to garner maximum support to isolate Russia. A similar resolution at the UN Security Council was vetoed by Moscow but no country has veto rights at the UNGA.

In order to address the concerns of countries, the European countries, in their draft resolution, did talk about the resolution of conflict through dialogue. That part was missing when the UNGA passed a resolution in March.

The Foreign Office (FO) is tightlipped over Pakistan’s strategy, but sources said that the country is unlikely to change its stance. Though there is a change of government, Pakistan’s position on the conflict between big powers has remained consistent, said a FO official while requesting anonymity.

In view of this, it is likely that Pakistan maintains neutrality and abstains from voting. However, given Pakistan’s recent flurry of engagements with the US and European countries, it will be a difficult proposition for the country to maintain that delicate balance.

The US and its allies believe that maintaining neutrality on the issue of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tantamount to supporting Moscow.

Like Pakistan, India is also facing the dilemma of voting against Russia or abstaining from it.

India does not want to say in advance how it will vote at the UNGA on a likely draft resolution condemning Russia’s proclaimed annexation of parts of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Monday.

Read Pakistan mulls importing Russia oil on deferred payment

“As a matter of prudence and policy, we do not predict our votes in advance,” Jaishankar said during a joint media briefing along with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Canberra.

To pass the resolution, the sponsors will need a two-thirds majority of countries present and voting "yes." Abstentions do not count toward the two-thirds requirement.

Typically, the General Assembly would hold a public vote and record it so the world can see where each nation stands. But Russia has taken the unusual step of requesting a secret ballot — a format that is usually reserved for assembly actions such as elections to UN bodies, reported Voice of America.

In his letter, Nebenzia urged states to vote against the proposed resolution. He said that because there is "huge pressure" on countries to pick a side, Russia is proposing a secret ballot to give them "flexibility and breathing space."

"It does not suggest a high degree of confidence in the outcome if Russia is seeking to obscure the vote count or the results," the US official said.

A procedural vote could be called in the assembly to decide whether to use a recorded ballot or a secret ballot.