Morocco’s absenteeism from the extraordinary general assembly of the United Nations condemning Russia’s offensive of Ukraine has been seen by most analysts as an attempt to make the best of a delicate situation.
Morocco is among the countries that sought to prioritize domestic interests over a categorical position on the UN negotiation agenda over Ukraine, said Mohamed Tajeddine Houssaini, a lawyer and professor of international law at Mohammed V University in Rabat in an interview with Hespress EN.
Absenteeism, the analyst said, cannot be characterized as an alignment with an agenda, or another.
He said Morocco’s positionality regarding the Ukraine crisis had already been voiced via press releases issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Following the UNGA vote, the foreign ministry published a statement saying “Morocco continues to follow with concern and worry the evolution of the situation between the Russian Federation and Ukraine.”
It added “the Kingdom regrets the military escalation which has, unfortunately, to date, resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and thousands of injuries and which has caused human suffering. This situation impacts, also, all the populations and States of the region and beyond.”
In addition to Morocco, 11 other countries were absent from the assembly, including Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, and Veneuela.
The extraordinary general assembly was nonetheless voted by a large majority of 141 member states. 35 countries, including China, abstained. 5 voted against, namely North Korea, Eritrea, Syria, Russia, and Belarus.
In total, The resolution, entitled “Aggression against Ukraine,” punctuating more than two days of interventions at the United Nations, calls on Moscow to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces” from Ukraine.
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