BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA
UKRAINE’s Ambassador to Southern Africa, Liubov Abravitova, yesterday pledged to strengthen bilateral relations with most African countries, although some abstained from voting against Russia’s invasion of kyiv at the recent Assembly General of the United Nations (UN).
Zimbabwe was among 35 countries that abstained from voting against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the UN General Assembly, saying they did not support the imposition of sanctions on member states.
The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the majority of member states calling on Moscow to stop the aggression.
United Nations (UN) General Assembly. were among the 35 countries that abstained, while Eritrea, North Korea, Syria, Belarus and Russia voted against
resolution.
In an exclusive interview with NewsDay Yesterday, Abravitova said that although some African countries had decided to “stand aside” in the crisis, the overwhelming majority vote was encouraging.
“The United Nations General Assembly obtained an overwhelming majority of 141 votes and the rest were from the African continent, 35, who abstained from voting”, Abravitova
noted.
“This vote is important because it was a test for many countries for their adherence to the value of democracy, value of the Charter of the United Nations and, of course, it was the principle of sovereignty and it is a very crucial principle for the African continent, taking into account the history of the suffering it has undergone.
We are looking for diplomatic solutions.
We have to think about how we are going to live after every war.
“Unfortunately, Ukraine is paying a heavy price for these same principles that everyone has chosen to call out.
But afterwards, we will see a lot of work for our bilateral relations with many countries, especially with those who were not sure and who decided to stand aside.
I don’t think it will directly affect any type of relationship, but it will provide lessons on cooperation issues. »
Abravitova denied reports that African students were discriminated against and left stranded in Ukraine when Russian forces invaded the country.
“We have strong ties with Africa.
The misinformation is enormous and Russia uses it, not only to brainwash the world, but also to brainwash people in their own country.
I have been in contact with foreigners in Ukraine.
Over the years we have had over 16,000 students in Ukraine, but they have never experienced any form of abuse.
When the invasion happened, it was unplanned and no one was ready for it.
“Even the government of Zimbabwe cannot be blamed for this because no one was ready for Russia to suddenly appear on the Ukrainian border.
Border services were not ready either.
There were a lot of problems at the border in the first days, but they weren’t related to any discrimination.
Students were helped to cross Ukraine regardless of their nationality,” she said.
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