Fayeq votes against Russia at UN, IEA says Afghanistan to remain impartial

Naseer Ahmad Fayeq, who is holding Afghanistan’s seat at the United Nations, on Wednesday voted in favor of a resolution that condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), however, said that Kabul will remain impartial.

The resolution demanding that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally” withdraw its military forces from Ukraine was supported by 141 of the UN’s 193 members.

China, India and South Africa were among the 35 countries that abstained, while just five – Eritrea, North Korea, Syria, Belarus and of course Russia – voted against it.

Before the vote, Fayeq had said that Russia’s attack on Ukraine is “a clear violation of international law and the UN Charter, in which it respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and refrains from threatening or using force against political independence, sovereignty and the rule of law.”

IEA, however, suggested that the vote was not Afghanistan’s official stance.

“It is our policy that we will not take side in any issue around the world. We want to attract the world’s attention to Afghanistan’s reconstruction. We want to maintain relations with all countries and be impartial. We ask all to resolve their problems through talks not fighting,” said Suhail Shaheen, IEA’s nominee for Afghanistan’s UN envoy post.

Some diplomats believe Fayeq’s vote at UN will not affect Afghanistan’s ties with Russia.

“The person who is currently holding Afghanistan’s seat at UN cannot represent a state which he doesn’t recognize, therefore, only the IEA Foreign Ministry’s statements are legally and politically reliable,” said Ahmad Sarwar, a former Afghan ambassador to India.