The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution on Crimea which Bangladesh has abstained from.
According to the United Nations’ website, by a recorded vote of 100 in favour to 11 against, with 58 abstentions including Bangladesh, the Assembly adopted a resolution on Thursday titled “Territorial integrity of Ukraine”.
“Bangladesh abstained when the resolution was taken and it did not give any explanation for that,” said an official of the foreign ministry.
The non-binding text said apart of Ukraine had been forcibly annexed by a state and urged other states, international organisations and specialised agencies not to recognise any change in the status of Crimea or the Black Sea port city of Sevastopol, and to refrain from actions or dealings that might be interpreted
as such.
Meanwhile, Russian ambassador to Dhaka Alexander Nicholaev at a programme expressed satisfaction with the fact that Bangladesh abstained from the UNGA resolution.
He was speaking at a country lecture programme at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies yesterday.
He claimed that joining of Crimea with Russia was not an issue of annexation, rather a reunification issue.
The citizens of Crimea chose to be a part of Russia and the West was playing a double standard in this regard, he alleged. He also thanked China and Russia for their support.
About bilateral trade, the Russian ambassador said the existing trade between the countries was a peanut to the potential. At present, the size of Bangladesh-Russia trade is about $700m.
About reintroducing Aerofloat Dhaka-Moscow flight, he said it was not commercially viable.
When asked about the unit price of a combat fighter plane that Bangladesh was going to procure from Russia, he declined to disclose anything.
