Lithuania has backtracked its decision to send vaccine doses to Bangladesh after the latter did not vote at the United Nations General Assembly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Lithuania, had last week, agreed to send 4.44 lakh doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Bangladesh. Bangladesh joined 35 countries including India in abstaining to vote at the UN General Assembly. Ethiopia, Russia, Syria and North Korea were among those who voted against condemnation of Russia’s invasion. So far, about 50 per cent of Bangladesh’s population has received one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Ukraine, in the meantime, is defending a claim against it by Russia that Ukraine has been committing genocide.
During the General Assembly debates, however, Bangladesh’s representative said it supports the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine. And it hoped that the conflict could be resolved through dialogue. ‘
“We are for peace. We want peace. We don’t want war. So, we said we are concerned about the war. So, we expect the UN charter to be followed,” Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told the Daily Star. As of March 7, Bangladesh has recorded 19.47 lakh coronavirus cases and 29,089 deaths.