New York-Sana
Russia used its veto in the UN Security Council against a US draft resolution that included condemning the referendums on accession to Russia that took place in the republics of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.
Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, described putting the draft resolution to the vote as a "provocation", adding, "The results of the vote are the best evidence that the residents of those regions do not want to return to Ukraine and have made their considered and free choice for the benefit of our country."
He stressed that after the Russian State Duma's ratification of the agreements on the accession of the new regions to Russia and the signing of them by the Russian president, "the will of the residents of Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson will be fulfilled, and there will be no turning back as required by the draft resolution presented today."
It is noteworthy that the draft resolution presented today by the United States and Albania to a vote in the Security Council considered Russia's organization of referendums to be "illegitimate."
In addition to the Russian veto, 4 countries abstained: China, India, Brazil and Gabon, while 10 other countries supported it.