Moldova abstains at the UN, citing "Solidarity with Ukraine"
The Republic of Moldova abstained from voting in the UN General Assembly on the adoption of a new world map after Ukraine raised concerns that this new cartographic representation separates Crimea from its territory. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Chisinau stated that the abstention did not challenge the resolution's core objectives, which Moldova considers legitimate. Instead, it took into account Ukraine's concerns about the potential political misuse of cartographic representations.
The controversy arose after the new world map, based on the Equal Earth projection, adopted by the UN General Assembly in a vote, shows the Crimean Peninsula in a different colour from both Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine abstained from adopting the resolution, and the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN and Verkhovna Rada deputy Kira Rudik criticised the way the peninsula, illegally annexed by Russia, is depicted.
Rudik published an image of the new map and described the situation as “a disgrace.”
The “Correct the map” resolution, presented by Togo on behalf of the African Group, aims to promote a more equitable representation of land areas. The Equal Earth projection aims to replace the traditional Mercator projection, developed in 1569.
One of the main criticisms of the Mercator projection is that it distorts the size of territories at high latitudes. Thus, Greenland appears on the map approximately the same size as Africa, although the African continent is almost 14 times larger.
The UN resolution was supported by 164 states. Six countries — Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, the Republic of Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine — abstained, and the United States was the only state that voted against.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Chisinau emphasized in a press release that the position of the Republic of Moldova should not be interpreted as a rejection of the objectives of the resolution.
“The abstention of the Republic of Moldova did not target the substantive objectives of the resolution, which we consider legitimate,” the MFA states.
According to the institution, the decision to abstain was taken taking into account “the concerns expressed by Ukraine regarding the possible political instrumentalisation of some cartographic representations, including in relation to the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories”.
"The Republic of Moldova has chosen to stand in solidarity with Ukraine, in full accordance with its consistent position of supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders", reads the official press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
