India on Thursday abstained from a vote in the UN General Assembly to suspend Russia’s membership of the Human Rights Council, opting to again avoid picking sides in a move sponsored by western countries.

Explaining the decision to abstain, India’s permanent representative to the UN in New York, T.S. Tirumurti said: “We do so for reasons of both substance and process.’’ Stating that India has chosen to side with peace in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he iterated the Indian position that peace, dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward.

Calling for an independent investigation into the civilian killings at Bucha — which the Russian embassy in New Delhi on Thursday described as a “false flag operation perpetrated by Kyiv itself’’ — Tirumurti said: “When innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option.’’

Eager to ensure that India’s vote should not be projected by the western world as a stand against human rights, the ambassador pointed out that New Delhi has been at the forefront of protecting human rights from the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“We firmly believe that all decisions should be taken fully respecting due process, as all our democratic polity and structures enjoin us to do. This applies to international organisations as well, particularly the UN.’’

In all 93 countries voted in favour of the resolution, 24 against and 58 countries abstained. This is the second time a country has been suspended by the UNHRC since its inception in 2006, the first being Libya in 2011.