DUSHANBE, March 29, 2014, Asia-Plus – Reuters reported on March 29 that UN diplomats say that Russia threatened several Eastern European and Central Asian states with retaliation if they voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution declaring invalid Crimea”s referendum on seceding from Ukraine.
The disclosures about Russian threats reportedly came after Moscow accused Western countries of using “shameless pressure, up to the point of political blackmail and economic threats,” in an attempt to coerce the United Nations” 193 member states to join it in supporting the non-binding resolution on the Ukraine crisis.
Reuters notes that according to interviews with UN diplomats, most of whom preferred to speak on condition of anonymity for fear of angering Moscow, the targets of Russian threats included Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as well as a number of African countries.
A spokesman for Russia”s Mission to the U.N. denied that Moscow threatened any country with retaliation if it supported the resolution, saying: “We never threaten anyone. We just explain the situation.”
According to the diplomats, the Russian threats were not specific. But they said it was clear to the recipients of the warnings not to support the resolution that retaliatory measures could include steps such as expelling migrant workers from Russia, halting natural gas supplies or banning certain imports to Russia to cause economic harm.
In the end, the Ukrainian resolution declaring Crimea”s vote on March 16 in favor of seceding from Ukraine as having “no validity” passed with 100 votes in favor, 11 against and 58 abstentions. Another 24 UN member states did not cast votes.
Reuters notes that although the General Assembly resolution is non-binding – unlike Security Council resolutions – Russia and the Western powers went to great efforts to persuade delegations to vote with them. Earlier this month, Russia vetoed a resolution in the Security Council that was similar to the General Assembly text.
The United States and European delegations said the result of a March 27 vote highlighted Russia”s isolation on the issue of Crimea.
The delegations of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan reportedly did not respond to a request from Reuters for comment about the alleged Russian threats of retaliation. Both countries were among the 24 countries that did not cast votes on March 26.
But the Ambassador of Moldova to the U.N., Vladimir Lupan, agreed to speak about the issue. Asked if the Russians had given any indication, direct or indirect, that Moldova could be punished for a yes vote, Lupan said: “I wasn”t present at this particular discussion and I can neither infer nor confirm this to you.”
“And normally before you vote, you discuss this with a number of countries,” he told Reuters. “This matter was indeed discussed between the Moldovan authorities and the Russian authorities. We also discussed this with our (European Union) partners.”
“Of course, we had two different points of view – one from the Russian Federation in favor of a no vote and, for example, the European Union in favor of a positive vote,” Lupan said, adding that his country was attempting to resolve all outstanding issues with Russia peacefully and through dialogue.
Several diplomats told Reuters that Moldova was among the countries subjected to pressure from Moscow ahead of the vote. In the end, the Moldovan delegation defied Russia and joined Ukraine, the United States, the EU and other Western powers in voting yes.
Moldova is in a precarious situation as its pro-Europe leader warned in an interview with Reuters of “a series of provocations” from breakaway Russian-speaking Transdniestria, which has been identified by NATO as a possible next target for Russia after it sent troops into Ukraine.
