In a victory in Ukraine's third anniversary of the Russian invasion, the UN General Assembly on Monday refused to approve a U.S.-backed resolution urging an end to the war without mentioning Moscow's aggression. Instead, it approved a European-backed Ukrainian resolution requiring Russia to withdraw its troops immediately, a force that the Trump administration opposed.
This is a setback from the Trump administration in the world institutions of 193 people. Its resolutions are not legally binding, but are regarded as a barometer of world public opinion. But it also shows a decline in support for Ukraine, whose resolution passed 93-18 and 65 abstentions. This is lower than previous votes, which have more than 140 countries condemned Russian aggression and demanded immediate evacuation.
The United States attempted to withdraw its proposed resolution to the Ukrainians, including a last-minute appeal by Deputy U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea. Ukraine refused, and the General Assembly approved three European propaganda amendments, adding language to the U.S. proposal, making it clear that Russia violated its smaller neighbors and violated the UN Charter.
The votes for the revised resolution of the United States were 93-8, the game was 73, the Ukraine voted “yes”, the United States abstained and Russia voted “no”.
Mariana Betsa, Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister, said her country was exercising its “inherent right to self-defense” after the Russian invasion, which violated the requirement of the UN Charter that states respect the sovereignty and territories of other countries whole.
“When we mark three years of this destruction (the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia), we call on all countries to gain a foothold and take… the side of the Charter, the side of the human race, just and lasting peace, peace, through strength Peace,” she said. President Donald Trump often says he is committed to “peace through strength and strength.”
Meanwhile, U.S. envoy Shea said that several previous UN condemns Russia and demands the evacuation of Russian troops “fails to stop the war” and “has been delayed for a long time now, which is too bad and too bad for the people in the middle. Ukraine, Russia and beyond.”
“What we need is a resolution that marks the commitment of all the United Nations member states to end the war lasts,” Shea said.
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The resolution reflects tensions between the United States and Ukraine after Trump suddenly negotiated with Russia to quickly resolve the conflict. They also highlighted the pressures of the Transatlantic Coalition in the special circumstances of the Trump administration’s interaction with Moscow. European leaders were frustrated that they and Ukraine were excluded from preliminary talks last week, and the conference was held when Trump held President Emmanuel Macron in Washington.
In improving rhetoric, Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator”, wrongly accusing Kiev of launching a war and warning him to “more move faster” to end the negotiations The risk of conflict or no leadership of the country. Zelenskyy replied that Trump lives in “disinformation” made in Russia.
At that time, the Trump administration not only refused to endorse Ukraine's UN resolution, but also proposed its own competitive resolution at the last minute.
The United States also wants to vote on its proposals in a stronger UN Security Council, which has a legally binding resolution and has a veto power with Russia, China, Britain and France. China has served as chairman of the board this month and has been scheduled for Monday afternoon.
A U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity because the Security Council has not completed the U.S. resolution, saying the U.S. will veto any amendments to Russians or Europeans.
The General Assembly has become Ukraine's most important UN body, as Russia's veto crippled the 15-member Security Committee, which was paralyzed by the 15-member Commission for Maintaining International Peace and Security.
Since the Russian army rushed into the border on February 24, 2022, the General Assembly has approved six resolutions that condemned the invasion and demanded the immediate pull of Russian troops.
The original U.S. resolution was very brief, acknowledging the “tragic deaths of the entire Russian-Ukrainian conflict” and pleading for a “quick end to the conflict and further urging a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.” It never mentioned the invasion of Moscow.
France's United Nations Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere, proposed the three amendments on behalf of more than 20 European countries, said “a reflection of the real situation in Ukraine, which is led by Russia over its neighbors. A war of aggression.”
The first one replaced the Russian-Ukrainian conflict with “the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation on Ukraine”. The second reaffirms the General Assembly's commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty, independence, solidarity and territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders. The third demands the establishment of just, lasting and comprehensive peace in Ukraine, respecting the UN Charter and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Russian United Nations Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters last week that the initial U.S. resolution was a “good move.”
He proposed an amendment that would add “by resolving its root cause” so that the last line of the U.S. resolution would read: “Please the rapid end of the conflict, including resolving its root cause, and further urge lasting Peace is between Ukraine and Russia.”
The Congress also approved Monday's amendment, but Russia did not support the amendment resolution because it clearly directed Moscow's fingers to start the war.
The Ukrainian resolution refers to “a comprehensive invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation” and recalls that all previous parliamentary resolutions must be implemented “in response to the aggression against Ukraine.”
It picked out the General Assembly's request that Russia “immediately, unconditionally, and unconditionally withdraw all military forces from its internationally recognized borders.”
It stressed that any involvement of North Korean troops fighting with Russian forces “had aroused serious concern about the further escalation of the conflict.”
The resolution reaffirms parliament’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and reiterates that “territorial acquisitions that may not be taken as legitimate by threats or use of force.”
It calls for “a relegation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian war” and reiterates that “the war is urgently needed to end this year.”
–Matthew Lee, an Associated Press diplomatic writer in Washington, contributed to the report.
