Will they "give Ukraine an offer it can't refuse"? (:=))
Quoting Francine Ponomarenko <[email protected]>:
> You have to love the line: " We never threaten anyone. We just explain the
> situation."
> Sounds just like mob language.
>
> On Saturday, 29 March 2014, <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Exclusive: Russia threatened countries ahead of U.N. vote on Ukraine:
>> envoys
>>
>> http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/29/us-ukraine-crisis-un-idUSBREA2R20O20140329
>> By Louis Charbonneau
>> UNITED NATIONS
>> Sat Mar 29, 2014 6:28am EDT
>>
>> (Reuters) - Russia threatened several Eastern European and Central Asian
>> states with retaliation if they voted in favor of a United Nations General
>> Assembly resolution this week declaring invalid Crimea's referendum on
>> seceding from Ukraine, U.N. diplomats said.
>>
>> The disclosures about Russian threats 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.
>>
>> According to interviews with U.N. 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 U.N. member
>> states did not cast votes.
>>
>> Western diplomats called the result a diplomatic success for Ukraine. A
>> similar General Assembly vote was held in 2008 after Russia went to war
>> with Georgia over its breakaway enclave South Ossetia, which later declared
>> independence and has unsuccessfully sought annexation to Russia. That
>> resolution was adopted with a mere 14 votes in favor, 11 against and 105
>> abstentions.
>>
>> 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 Thursday's
>> vote highlighted Russia's isolation on the issue of Crimea.
>>
>> Ukraine's former President Viktor Yanukovich, backed by Russia, was ousted
>> last month after a crackdown on demonstrations in Kiev that left dozens
>> dead. His ousting prompted Moscow to seize the peninsula on the Black Sea
>> in a move that predominantly Russian-speaking Crimeans embraced in their
>> plebiscite that overwhelmingly favored annexation to Russia.
>>
>> DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW
>>
>> The delegations of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan 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
>> Wednesday.
>>
>> 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 the former Soviet republic 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.
>>
>> Lupan also said the West had not threatened Moldova.
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca told Reuters that Russia's annexation
>> of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula "might raise expectations" in Moldova's
>> rebel region, a sliver of land that broke away with the collapse of the
>> Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
>>
>> Some African diplomats also did not respond to queries, but Rwanda's
>> deputy U.N. ambassador, Olivier Nduhungirehe, vehemently denied that Kigali
>> was threatened. "I don't know where this came from," he told Reuters.
>>
>> Ivory Coast's Ambassador Youssoufou Bamba also denied being pressured by
>> Moscow.
>>
>> Like many African states, Rwanda abstained from the vote, while Ivory
>> Coast did not participate.
>>
>> Russia is not the only country accused of strong-arm tactics at the United
>> Nations. Ahead of important decisions on the 15-member U.N. Security
>> Council, diplomats say the big powers have been known to attempt to "buy"
>> votes from the 10 non-permanent members with a combination of carrots and
>> sticks.
>>
>> The United States, diplomats say, has in the past punished countries that
>> refused to stand with it on the Security Council for crucial votes. After
>> Yemen voted against a council resolution authorizing the use of force
>> against Iraq in 1991 to expel it from Kuwait, Washington cut off millions
>> of dollars in aid to Sanaa.
>>
>> French Ambassador Gerard Araud was asked about Russia's allegation that
>> Western powers had blackmailed U.N. member states to secure a strong vote
>> in favor of the Crimea text.
>>
>> "When you lose, you have to be a good a loser," he told reporters outside
>> the Security Council. "I think Russia is a bad loser. They lost and they
>> did by 100 votes."
>>
>> (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau)
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
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