MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Romanov)
Vitaly Churkin, Russia's Permanent Representative (Ambassador) to the United Nations, said the Russian delegation had thwarted Ukraine's attempts to persuade the UN General Assembly to examine and approve a resolution on recognizing Holodomor, the 1932-1933 famine, or Hunger Plague, that affected Soviet Ukraine and several other regions of the U.S.S.R., as genocide of the Ukrainian nation.
The Ukrainian administration of President Viktor Yushchenko representing one of the country's several political forces has been trying to facilitate this resolution's approval for a long time.
Last year, Russia also managed to thwart Ukrainian diplomatic efforts to persuade the 62nd UN General Assembly to discuss the Holodomor issue. In despair, the Ukrainian delegation to the UN launched a signature-collection campaign in support of a Holodomor declaration. This motion was supported by 30 member-states, with another 160 voting against.