Armenia Abstains from UN Resolution Calling for Russia’s Withdrawal from Ukraine

Armenia has abstained from voting on a UN General Assembly resolution that deplores “in the strongest terms” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The resolution, approved late on Wednesday by 141 members of the 193-member body, demands that Russia immediately stop its war in Ukraine and withdraw all of its troops from Ukrainian territory.

Russia was joined by Belarus, which has served as a launch pad for Russian invasion forces, Eritrea, North Korea and Syria in voting against the non-binding resolution.

Thirty-five UN members abstained. They included China, India, Iran as well as Armenia and three other members of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. Eleven other nations, including Azerbaijan, did not vote at all.

Armenia had repeatedly voted against UN General Assembly resolutions condemning Russia’s annexation of Crimea and upholding Ukrainian sovereignty over the Black Sea peninsula.

Last week, it also voted against the effective suspension of Russia’s membership in the Council of Europe. The decision was backed by 42 members of the Strasbourg-based organization. Armenia was the only member state that joined Russia in opposing it.

In what was the first official Armenian reaction to the Russian assault, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday that Yerevan is “deeply saddened” by the war in Ukraine. He expressed hope that fresh Russian-Ukrainian negotiations “will produce results.”