Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said Bangladesh abstained from voting at the UN General Assembly resolution -- that reprimanded Russia for invading Ukraine -- as the resolution is not meant to stop the war but to blame somebody.

The resolution, supported by 141 of the assembly's 193 members, was passed last Wednesday in a rare emergency session called by the UN Security Council.  Bangladesh was among 35 countries, including India, Pakistan, and China that abstained from voting.
 
"If you read the resolution wording, it is not to stop the war, but to blame someone," Momen said in response to a question at a press conference at the State Guest House Padma today.

"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," he said. He said Bangladesh is in favor of dialogue and peaceful solutions to any problem.

"We said citizens of Ukraine should be safe. We said we have confidence in the UN secretary-general and that he should take an initiative for dialogue and resolve it. We voted for peace". said the foreign minister.