As of Monday, Russia killed 6,221 civilians in Ukraine, including 37 children, per figures shared by the UN.
Qatar joined 143 countries to vote on a United Nations General Assembly resolution rejecting Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories on Wednesday, as the conflict continued to escalate.
“The resolution ‘defending the principles’ of the UN Charter, notes that the regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia are temporarily occupied by Russia as a result of aggression,” said the UN in a statement.
The countries that voted against the resolution are Russia and its allies—Belarus, Syria, North Korea, and Nicaragua. A total of 35 other countries have abstained from the vote, most of which are African nations, as well as China and India.
Syria was also the only Arab nation to vote against the resolution.
It came days after Russia announced the annexation of 15% of Ukraine, the biggest Europe has witnessed since the second World War, on Friday.
The latest UN resolution calls on all states to not recognise Russia’s annexation claim, demanding an “immediate reversal” of its declaration.
Russia announced the controversial annexation after holding what it labeled as “referendums” in areas it illegally occupied in Ukraine, constituting a breach of international law.
The move was widely condemned, with the US imposing more sanctions on hundreds of Russians and companies, including 278 members of Moscow’s legislature.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the majority vote confirms ” Russia’s international isolation.”
“Russia will be held accountable. The EU will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes,” tweeted Borrell.
Qatar’s stance
Qatar responded to Russia’s annexation with calls to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
In a statement, Qatar’s foreign ministry said it was following “with great concern” the developments with regards to the ongoing “Russian-Ukrainian crisis”.
The Gulf state placed great emphasis on the “necessity of respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and pursuing dialogue as a way to resolve the crisis.”
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February this year, Qatar has held various phone calls with the leaders of both countries.
In March, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani travelled to Moscow where he met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
In a joint press conference with Lavrov at the time, the Qatari foreign minister condemned “everything to the contrary” of the UN Charter.
Russia launched new attacks on Ukrainian cities on Monday including its capital Kyiv, the worst to hit the city since Moscow attempted to seize control in February.
Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held a phone call with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the attacks took place.
Zelenskyy thanked Sheikh Tamim “for the resolute support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” noting the two discussed further joint steps within the UN and other international platforms.
As of Monday, Russia killed 6,221 civilians in Ukraine, including 37 children, per figures shared by the UN.
On Wednesday, a Reuters report cited Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov as saying the Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet Qatar’s amir in Kazakhstan.
“This will be the first face-to-face meeting after the outbreak of the pandemic, so it is very important,” Ushakov said. “The last time we met with the Emir was in Dushanbe in 2019.”
While he said talks would primarily focus on politics and trade, he also noted energy as a point of discussion.
“I would single out cooperation in the energy market, cooperation between Russia and Qatar within the framework of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum,” he added.
