Published in the
Orange County Register on April 2, 2014. To access the original article,
click here.
In
a recent vote, 100 to 11 (with 58 abstentions), the world community condemned
the Russian annexation of Crimea in a United Nations General Assembly vote on
March 27.
The
resolution called on all states, international organizations and specialized
agencies not to recognize any alternation of the status of the Autonomous
Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. It also asked that states
“refrain from any action or dealing that might be interpreted as recognizing
any such altered status ... including any attempts to modify Ukraine’s borders
through the threat or use of force or other unlawful means.”
Faced
with Russian threats, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan did not vote on the resolution.
Other former Soviet Republics under similar heavy pressure, such as Azerbaijan
and Moldova, defied the Kremlin and supported the resolution. Georgia and
Lithuania, and traditionally neutral countries such as Costa Rica, Brazil,
Nigeria and Singapore, rose to condemn the Russian violation of international
law.
Anne
Marie Slaughter, president of the New America Foundation, pointed out the
countries opposing Russia came from around the globe.
“It
is a very big deal to make it clear to all Russians that the international
community condemns this action,” she said. “This is not the story Putin told.”
As
a General Assembly resolution, the vote was non-binding on its members. The
U.N. had sought previously for a binding commitment through the Security
Council, but Russia exercised its veto power to prevent its passage.
The
11 countries who supported Russian annexation are all countries that are traditionally
anti-Western in their approach. The group was led by Russia itself, followed by
the Communist-led or Communist-leaning regimes of Cuba, North Korea, Nicaragua
and Venezuela. Russian client states Sudan, Syria and Zimbabwe also supported
their patron.
Only
two members of the former Soviet Union, the “Near Abroad” which Russian
President Vladimir Putin would like to unite into a pro-Moscow bloc, supported
the annexation: Armenia and Belarus. Armenia could not support a resolution
condemning the alteration of another state’s borders by force, as it has been
condemned four times by the U.N. Security Council for the same actions when it
seized Nagorno-Karabakh from the Republic of Azerbaijan. Russia owns the
Armenian energy grid and the largest Russian military base outside of Russia is
in Armenia.
Belarus
also rode to Moscow’s defense. Belarus’ economy is almost totally dependent on
Russia’s, its source for energy and its major export market. All other former
Soviet states either condemned Russian actions, or abstained. The almost
universal negative response from Russia’s closest neighbors indicates that
Putin’s plans for greater political or economic union with them is in serious
jeopardy.
In
remarks on the General Assembly floor, Cuba did not justify its vote as a
support for Russia, but rather as opposition to the potential expansion of
NATO. Nicaragua emphasized the importance of non-interference in the internal
affairs of states, a remark that could be interpreted as a subtle rejection of
Russia’s actions. The only two countries that gave whole-hearted support to
Russia were Armenia and North Korea.
International
diplomatic support for Ukraine does not necessarily translate into more active
measures, however. Great Britain is scheduled to begin importing Russian
natural gas in September, France has not canceled delivery of Mistral class
naval vessels to the Russian fleet and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said
she would oppose additional sanctions against Russia. In the United States,
President Barack Obama has called for diplomacy to solve the crisis. In Russia,
President Putin has responded to the international community by continuing to
reinforce units along the eastern and southern Ukrainian border.
James J. Coyle,
Ph.D. is the Director of Global Education at Chapman University, and is chair
of the Eurasian committee of the Pacific Council on International Policy.
