UNITED NATIONS: Russia would veto a US draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that would declare a planned referendum on independence for Ukraine’s Crimea region illegal, a foreign news agency quoting council diplomats reported.
A referendum on the status of Ukraine’s autonomous Crimea region will be held on March 16 in which Crimeans will be asked to decide if the autonomous republic stays part of Ukraine or joins Russia.
On Thursday, the United States circulated a draft resolution to the UN Security Council, urging member countries not to recognize the results of upcoming referendum in Crimea.
The US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power told reporters after a UNSC meeting that the Crimea referendum is hastily planned, unjustified and divisive and that it would violate Ukraine’s sovereignty. She said that the resolution would endorse a peaceful solution to the Ukraine crisis based on international law and to ensure global security and peace.
However, Russia made clear that it would oppose the draft, saying the people of Crimea have the right to choose whether to join the Russian Federation.
