West pressuring Arab states to condemn Russia’s operation in Ukraine

Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit revealed on Sunday that the West is putting pressure on Arab states to condemn Russia over its operation in Ukraine and vote against Moscow in international forums.

In an interview with Egypt’s Sada El-Balad TV network, Aboul Gheit confirmed that the West had indeed pressured league members in a bid to get them on board to geopolitically “surround” Russia.

“They did not succumb to this dictate to which they were subjected, and some even refused to vote for condemning the actions of the Russian Federation,” Aboul Gheit indicated.

A number of Arab League members, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt, voted for a United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution in March voicing opposition to Russia’s operation.

Media reports suggested that the US lobbied Egypt “and several other countries” to give their political support to Kyiv and “reduce the pace” of their cooperation with Russia.

The other countries abstained from the vote, but Syria, Russia’s ally, voted against the resolution.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has previously accused the West of coercing other nations to take its side in defence of the US-dominated world order.

“[The West] is trying to mobilise all other countries to come under their flag, using the situation in Ukraine and around it as a pretext,” Lavrov asserted after a meeting with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation last month.