Dhaka defends Crimea vote abstention

Shahriar Alam

Abstaining from voting in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the Crimea issue, Dhaka today said Bangladesh has done the right job as it has not deviated from its foreign policy.
“Being a G-77 member-country and being a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, we do not take specific side on any country’s internal issue. We haven’t deviated from that policy. That’s why we abstained from voting,” State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam clarified.
The UNGA on March 27 in an overwhelming majority resolution declared Crimea referendum invalid and its annexation by Russia “has no validity”.
The resolution, which passed with 100 votes in favour, 11 opposed, and 58, including Bangladesh, India and China abstentions, represents the world’s general opinion on the matter of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and Russia decision to seize Crimea.
Moscow welcomed Dhaka’s decision but the United States regretted Bangladesh’s abstention from joining the large majority regarding the resolution adopted by the UNGA on Crimea issue.
When asked about it, Shahriar Alam said they do not have any ‘headache’ on which country is happy or unhappy over Bangladesh’s position. “With our position, a country can be happy or another country can be unhappy. We’ don’t bother it.”
On Monday, US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan Mozena said: “I regret that Bangladesh was not able to join the majority on that important issue,”
While Sunday, Russian Ambassador in Dhaka Alexander A Nicholaev at a country lecture programme expressed satisfaction over Bangladesh’s abstention from the UNGA resolution.
The envoy claimed that joining of Crimea with Russia was not an issue of ‘annexation’, rather a ‘reunification’ one.