UN General Assembly falls flat on its face with latest anti-Russian resolution

The resolution of the UN General Assembly on Russia's reparations to Ukraine is ridiculous per se, since it is always the losing party that shall pay them. The purpose of the resolution is clear: to create an illegitimate body to seize Russian assets and wage war with Russia on its own money.

The November 14 resolution states that:

• The General Assembly recognizes the need to establish an international mechanism to compensate for damage, loss or harm that arise from Russia's illegal acts against Ukraine;
• The General Assembly recommends the Member States should, in cooperation with Ukraine, set up an international register of damage.

As many as 94 states voted for the resolution with all Western countries among them, except Israel. Turkey supported it too. Representatives of 14 countries opposed the "reparations", 73 others abstained. The following countries voted against:

• Russia,
• Belarus,
• Bahamas,
• China,
• Cuba,
• DPRK,
• Eritrea,
• Ethiopia,
• Iran,
• Mali
• Nicaragua,
• Syria,
• CAR,
• Zimbabwe.

The following abstained: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Nepal, Pakistan, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, etc.

The General Assembly does not have the authority to implement its decisions — it recommends that the Security Council does that, but it is already obvious that Russia and China will veto the move.

It is the loser that pays reparations

Ukraine's Ambassador Serhiy Kyslitsa noted in his speech that the resolution was not a precedent, because the USSR had received reparations from Germany after the Great Patriotic War. Iraq also paid reparations to Kuwait after the 1990 war. Those were reparations from losers to winners. In our case, it just so happens that the General Assembly announced Ukraine as the winning party.

Wars can be won on the battlefield, rather than at the UN. Russia is a clear favorite here given its nuclear potential.

Pay compensation to Syria, Libya, Iraq, etc first

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said that if the West created the declared illegitimate mechanisms outside the UN, they would be aimed at seizing Russia's frozen assets. He also stressed that the precedent was offensive to most third world countries.

"It is the states that have an extensive track record of plundering the rest of the world that are now making the scenario to steal and spend sovereign state assets. Western countries have never considered reparations as a way to atone for their own sins. They recollected this only now, when they saw reparations as a convenient tool to rob another state," Nebenzya said.

A Syrian representative noted that there was no question of paying compensations to Syria for what the United States and its allies had done to the country.

The abstaining countries thought they would be next to pay

India questioned whether the reparations process would help efforts to resolve the conflict and cautioned against setting precedents through such resolutions.

"We must not create mechanisms or create precedents without proper international legal scrutiny that have implications for the future functioning of the UN and the international economic system. We must avoid steps that preclude or jeopardize the possibility of dialogue, negotiations and an early end to this protracted conflict" Indian Ambassador to the UN Ruchira Kamboj said.

Israel was concerned that the same illegitimate decisions could be made in relation to Israel's possible reparations to Palestine.

Russia's response will be symmetrical

The Russian Federation will recognize neither the mechanism, nor the would-be compensation body, nor the register of damage, nor the legality of the move to seize its sovereign assets. Will Russia respond if this happens? The best response would be to win the special operation and seek reparations from the West. There are also intermediate options too.

• Russian companies may stop repaying loans issued by Western banks. It goes about an estimated amount of more than 400 billion dollars.
• Russia may nationalize Western assets in the Russian Federation that are evaluated at more than 300 billion dollars. In the meantime, Western companies are leaving the Russian market, selling their businesses while providing an opportunity to return.
• Russia may continue proving to partners that the reputation of the Western financial system is worthless, that one needs to turn to gold and national currencies.

Russia has China's support

The above-mentioned anti-Russian resolution gained so few supporters for the first time. As many as 143 countries voted in favor of the October 12 resolution condemning Russia for its "illegal annexation" of the Ukrainian territory. Five UN members opposed the document and 35 abstained in the October 12 vote. Russia, China, Cuba, Mali, Ethiopia were among those who voted against it.

China consistently votes against anti-Russian resolutions. No wonder, the United States demanded trillions of dollars in compensation for the alleged release of COVID virus from labs, and China is not going to meet the US halfway. China will veto all procedures for the implementation of recommendations of the General Assembly.

There is no doubt that China's support for the Russian Federation is guaranteed in the future. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping discussed that in person before the opening of the Beijing Olympics, which the West then boycotted diplomatically.

Beijing is well aware of the fact that it will be next on the line should Russia lose this war with the West.