Russia Threatened Neighboring States Ahead Of U.N. Vote On Ukraine

Russia's Ambassador to the U.N. Vitaly Churkin (C) leaves the General Assembly after a vote on the draft resolution territorial integrity of Ukranine at the U.N. headquarters in New York March 27, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz

EXCLUSIVE - Russia Threatened Countries Ahead Of U.N. Vote On Ukraine - Envoys -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Russia threatened several Eastern European and Central Asian states with retaliation if they voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution this week declaring invalid Crimea's referendum on seceding from Ukraine, U.N. diplomats said.

The disclosures about Russian threats came after Moscow accused Western countries of using "shameless pressure, up to the point of political blackmail and economic threats," in an attempt to coerce the United Nations' 193 member states to join it in supporting the non-binding resolution on the Ukraine crisis.

According to interviews with U.N. diplomats, most of whom preferred to speak on condition of anonymity for fear of angering Moscow, the targets of Russian threats included Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as well as a number of African countries.

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My Comment: I worked for the UN (ICAO in Montreal) from 1989 to 2004 .... everyone is always twisting everyone's arms. Threats and persuasions are nothing new.