Amidst the Trump administration’s pursuit of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, the United States voted against a resolution that condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called for the removal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.
Alongside the U.S., Russia and North Korea voted against the resolution, which was backed by European nations and passed in the General Assembly by a vote of 93-18, with 65 abstentions.
The U.S. then abstained from voting on its own resolution after European nations, spearheaded by France, successfully amended it to explicitly identify Russia as the aggressor. This amended resolution passed with a vote of 93-8 and 73 abstentions, with Ukraine voting in favor, the U.S. abstaining, and Russia voting against.
The voting coincided with the third anniversary of Russia’s actions and as Trump hosted French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington.
The U.S. subsequently pushed for a vote on its original draft in the U.N. Security Council, where resolutions are legally binding and where it holds veto power along with Russia, China, Britain, and France. The vote in the 15-member council resulted in a 10-0 outcome with five European countries – Britain, France, Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia – abstaining.
President Trump on Monday hinted at a potential meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
He also stated that “a lot of progress has been made” towards ending the war after Macron joined him at the White House for a call with Group of Seven (G7) leaders.
“President Macron is a very special man in my book,” Trump told reporters while sitting next to the French president. “We were together. We did it together. And I think a lot of progress has been made. We’ve had some very good talks with Russia. We’ve had some very good talks with others and we’re trying to get the war ended with Russia and Ukraine.”
The U.S.-drafted resolution presented to the U.N. on Monday acknowledged “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 did not mention Moscow’s aggression.
In a surprise move, France proposed three amendments, which added that the conflict was the result of a “full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.” The amendments reaffirmed the assembly’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity, and called for peace that respects the U.N. Charter.
Both assembly resolutions received support from U.S. allies in Asia, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as its neighbors Canada and Mexico and European countries, with the exception of Hungary.
U.S. deputy ambassador Dorothy Shea said Monday that multiple previous U.N. 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.”
In the Security Council, Russia exercised its veto power to block European amendments to the U.S. resolution.
Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said the U.S. resolution is “a step in the right direction, a common-sense initiative which reflects the will of the new administration in the White House to really contribute to the peaceful settlement in the conflict,” according to the Washington Post.
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