United Nations: In a dramatic shift in transatlantic relations under President Donald Trump, the United States split with its European allies by refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in votes on three UN resolutions Monday seeking an end to the three-year war. In the UN General Assembly, the US joined Russia in voting against a Europe-backed Ukrainian resolution that calls out Moscow’s aggression and demands an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.
The US then abstained from voting on its own competing resolution after Europeans, led by France, succeeded in amending it to make clear Russia was the aggressor. The voting was taking place as Trump was hosting French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington. It was a major setback for the Trump administration in the 193-member world body, whose resolutions are not legally binding but are seen as a barometer of world opinion.
The US then pushed for a vote on its original draft in the more powerful UN Security Council, where resolutions are legally binding and it has veto power along with Russia, China, Britain and France. The vote in the 15-member council was 10-0 with five countries abstaining, all from Europe. The dueling resolutions reflect the tensions that have emerged between the US and Ukraine after Trump suddenly opened negotiations with Russia in a bid to quickly resolve the conflict. They also underscore the strain in the transatlantic alliance over the Trump administration’s engagement with Moscow.
European leaders were dismayed that they and Ukraine were left out of preliminary talks last week. In escalating rhetoric, Trump has called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator,” falsely accused Kyiv of starting the war and warned that he “better move fast” to negotiate an end to the conflict or risk not having a nation to lead. Zelenskyy responded by saying Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.”
Trump’s meeting with Macron will be followed by a visit on Thursday from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, key US allies who were in lockstep with Washington on Ukraine just over a month ago. They now find themselves on opposite sides on the best pathway for the UN to call for an end to the war. In Monday’s first vote, the General Assembly approved the Ukrainian resolution 93-18 with 65 abstentions. The result showed some diminished support for Ukraine, because previous assembly votes saw more than 140 nations condemn Russia’s aggression and demand an immediate withdrawal.
The assembly then turned to the US-drafted resolution, which acknowledges “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict” and “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia,” but never mentions Moscow’s aggression. In a surprise move, France proposed three amendments, backed by more than European countries, which add that the conflict was the result of a “full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.” The amendments reaffirm the assembly’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity, and call for peace that respects the UN Charter.
Russia also proposed an amendment calling for “root causes” of the conflict to be addressed. All the amendments were approved and the resolution passed 93-8 with 73 abstentions, with Ukraine voting “yes,” the US abstaining, and Russia voting “no.” Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said her country is exercising its “inherent right to self-defense” following Russia’s invasion, which violates the UN Charter’s requirement that countries respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other nations.
“As we mark three years of this devastation — Russia’s full invasion against Ukraine — we call on all nations to stand firm and to take … the side of the Charter, the side of humanity and the side of just and lasting peace, peace through strength,” she said. Trump has often stated his commitment to bringing “peace through strength.” US deputy ambassador Dorothy Shea, meanwhile, said multiple previous UN resolutions condemning Russia and demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops “have failed to stop the war,” which “has now dragged on for far too long and at far too terrible a cost to the people in Ukraine and Russia and beyond.” “What we need is a resolution marking the commitment from all UN member states to bring a durable end to the war,” Shea said.
The General Assembly has become the most important UN body on Ukraine because the 15-member Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, has been paralyzed by Russia’s veto power. Since Russia forces stormed across the border on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Assembly has approved half a dozen resolutions that have condemned the invasion and demanded the immediate pullout of Russian troops.
Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told reporters last week that the original US resolution was “a good move.” The Ukrainian resolution adopted Monday recalls the need to implement all previous assembly resolutions “adopted in response to the aggression against Ukraine.” It singles out the assembly’s demand that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”
The resolution reaffirms the assembly’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and also “that no territorial acquisition resulting from the threat or use of force shall be recognized as legal.” It calls for “a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine” and it reiterates “the urgent need to end the war this year.
