List of Votes. Photo

The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution titled On the Status of Displaced Persons and Refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia, and the Tskhinvali/South Ossetian Region. This resolution affirms the right of all displaced persons to return to Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region, Jam News reports on June 5th.

For the first time, Armenia supported the resolution. Meanwhile, China, Georgia’s new strategic partner, abstained from voting.

The resolution was backed by 103 countries, with Russia, Belarus, North Korea, and Syria among the nine voting against it. Fifty-two countries abstained. The previous year saw 100 supporters, and between 2018 and 2022, votes in favor ranged from 79 to 95.

Shalva Papuashvili, Georgian Parliament Speaker, remarked that China’s abstention from voting on the UN resolution “amounts to support.”

Some of our friends and partner countries sometimes take a cautious position, which is because both they and Georgia sometimes have specific approaches and decisions based on their own agenda. In this case, abstention equals support.

Ilia Darchiashvili, Georgian Foreign Minister, expressed gratitude on Twitter to the countries that supported the resolution (screenshot from the official X account):

Armenia’s UN representative, Mher Margaryan, explained that Armenia has consistently backed peaceful conflict resolution within the framework of international laws and regulations. He also affirmed Armenia’s commitment to fundamental human rights, including those affected by conflict and displacement. Margaryan highlighted Armenia’s full support for Georgia’s territorial integrity, in line with the strategic partnership agreement signed between Tbilisi and Yerevan in January 2024:

In this regard, Armenia supports the return of displaced persons to South Ossetia and Abkhazia in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Read more: EU Commissioner Denies Threatening Georgia’s Prime Minister

Jam News, Civil Georgia and agencies