UNITED NATIONS, United States, Feb 24, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The United States
and Albania will soon submit their draft resolution to the United Nations
Security Council, seeking to condemn Russia for its recent Ukraine actions,
diplomatic sources said Wednesday.

   "It's almost finalized," a European diplomat, who wished to remain
anonymous, told AFP.

   "I hope we can move to action in the next hours or days," he added.

   The Security Council will convene later Wednesday night for its second
emergency session in three days over the crisis.

   Another diplomat, who also asked for anonymity, said she hoped the
resolution would benefit from a favorable "momentum" at the UN, where a large
majority of nations Wednesday condemned Russia's actions during an hours-long
General Assembly meeting.

   The draft text of the resolution, obtained by AFP, would have the Security
Council officially condemn Russia's decision to recognize two breakaway
regions in Ukraine as independent.

   It would also reaffirm the Council's "commitment to the sovereignty (and)
independence of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders."

   The resolution will first go to the 15-member Council, where it is certain
to fail due to Russia's veto power.

   It could then be submitted to the full UN General Assembly, where no
country holds a veto, but Assembly resolutions are non-binding.

   "The goal is to have the largest possible majority," the European diplomat
said.

   A similar scenario played out after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

   In the Security Council, China -- which also holds a veto -- abstained,
and 13 other members voted for the resolution.

   Russia submitted a veto.

   The resolution was then submitted to the General Assembly, where it passed
100-11, with other member nations abstaining or sitting out the vote.
According to the European diplomat, the difference this time is a "question
of magnitude," with a "risk of major conflict, major war."

   "The worst case scenario is the one of a kind of World War II military
operation which would of course generate a lot of civilian victims," he
explained.

   One UN ambassador currently sitting on the Security Council, who also
spoke under anonymity, told AFP that the "stakes are the same" and "we'll
have the same thing as in 2014."

   The US and Albanian representatives to the UN did not immediately respond
to a request for comment.