That is a strong stance to have 141 support vs only 5 vote against it (mostly strict Russian allies). Some of the abstaining are not surprising - generally countries that don’t want to voice an opinion (often for political reasons) and some that border with Russia. Somehow I don’t think much will change from Putin’s side as a result of this though.
I think the most interesting one is Cuba’s abstention. feels disappointing that South Africa did not vote in favour. India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are also looking pretty limp.
A lot of Opec countries voted in favour, including saudi arabia. They will hold a lot of power, if only Venezuela sees the opportunity.
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Star studded line-up of international pariahs. Good stuff Putin.
Is an interesting one, because they seem to walk a fine line between East and West. Given the subcontinent’s location, I can see why they’re not so keen on potentially pissing off Russia or China.
you could say that for almost every country that voted in favour, including Australia.
India is a fairly unique case in that they traditionally were neutral, if not Soviet-sympathetic, during the cold war, and has always had good relations with Russia even in the wake of their fairly recent pivot to the West (through the Quad). Their pivot to the West is seemingly more a response to the rise of China than anything else so it will be interesting to see how this situation affects them especially if they face pressure to ‘pick a side’.
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I’m only a week late ( 
) but @MichaelPower, taking some time off Twitter will help!
While I cannot say that Russia is on the appropriate side at all, there is also suspicion of the west that still lingers (as you mention). There definitely is a lot to unpack with regards to this conflict…
Avoiding the politics and history for one moment, it is very saddening to see the suffering of Ukrainians right now. I wish those unfortunate and stuck in this horrible mess the best.
Countries like China, India and Sri Lanka are certainly faced with interesting prospects. On the open side of things, they do not seem to encourage the conflict. Their ties to Russia do place them under increased scrutiny by western nations. For India and Sri Lanka, their US relationship could especially be tricky to navigate.
Article that seems to sum up India’s woes:
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This is one of Russia’s methods to crack down on local opposition to its invasion of Ukraine and restrict local reporting on the issue. On the same day, Putin formally signed a law that will see people who intentionally spread “fake” information about Russia’s armed forces jailed for up to 15 years. Russia has also blocked access to Facebook.
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Berlin has approved a shipment of 2,700 Soviet-era, shoulder-fired Strela missiles to Ukraine, according to government sources cited by news agencies.
I wonder what other Soviet-era East German supplies they still have sitting in warehouses.
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TikTok and Netflix withdrawing from Russia.
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This conflict sure is giving nuclear weapons some good publicity. Seems as long as Russia has them they can do what they want and the rest of the world will just watch on. Australia should buy some, save a lot of money on defense.
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Don’t you know that you can’t just “buy some”, not even for defence? Those which produce nuclear weapons are prohibited from selling them to other countries.
No thanks. I have seen Scott Morrison use a welder. I would hate to think the accidents that could be involved with a nuclear weapon.
War crimes in Ukraine are also prohibited. Yet here we are.
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So you want Australia to unlawfully possess, deploy or threaten to use weapons of mass destruction?
Just a suspicion of doing that is what started a war in Iraq and fear of that happening is what contributed to war in Afghanistan. Is that what you want for Australia?
Settle down, I never said anything like that, that’s a serious thing for you to insinuate.
Some of Australias closest allies; UK, us, France, India all have nuclear weapons. Shouldn’t be a forbidden topic to discuss if we should have one.
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wot?
There is no question where the correct answer is “Australia should acquire nuclear weaponry” - we are also a signatory to a non-proliferation treaty on nuclear weapons
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So are most of the nuclear powers. Let’s get onto the deal the US and UK have.
No. Let’s aim for the disarmament of those who already have them.
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we can’t - the treaty doesn’t allow us to acquire nuclear weapons nor does it allow those with nuclear weapons to supply them to another country