The head of the Foreign Ministry of Madagascar was fired for supporting in the UN condemnation of the annexation of the territory of Ukraine by Russia

Madagascarʼs President Henri Radzuelina fired Foreign Minister Richard Randriamandrat because he supported a UN resolution condemning Russiaʼs annexation of four regions of Ukraine.

Reuters and MNS write about it.

The head of the countryʼs MFA allegedly did not consult the government of Madagascar regarding the vote in the UN General Assembly. The president said that the country traditionally adheres to neutrality, so Randriamandrath had to abstain during the vote.

Randriamandrat himself stated that the vote did not harm Madagascarʼs national interests in any way.

The country has traditionally abstained from voting at the UN related to Russiaʼs war against Ukraine. A number of African countries have important economic ties with Russia, so they prefer not to take sides in the war.

• On October 12, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning Russiaʼs attempt to annex the occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine. Also, the resolution supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine and does not recognize Russian "referendums".
• It was supported by 143 countries out of 193 members of the General Assembly. 18 of the 35 abstaining countries were African. Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea, and Nicaragua voted against the resolution.