The United States and Russia aligned at the UN in a split from its Western allies and voted against a decision that condemned Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday.
The walk, under recently elected US President Donald Trump, has strained US-Europe relationships and raised concerns about Washington’s shifting position on the Russia-Ukraine battle.
A solution that was supported by Europe called for the US and Russia to immediately withdraw Russian troops and the US were opposed to the UN general assembly vote. The resolution was passed with 93 seats in behalf, 18 against, and 65 nays.
After European countries led by France effectively amended the resolution, the US decided to abstain from voting on it. Trump’s management had first proposed a decision that called for peace, but made particular note of Russian aggression. Following the addition of the German amendments, the US backed away from its own document, abstaining from the last vote, and Russia voted against it. The updated resolution also passed with 93 vote in behalf, 8 against, and 73 abstentions.
Later, the US pushed for a vote on the UN Security Council’s initial draft, where proposals are officially bound. The 15-member government approved it 10-0, but five Western governments abstained.
The two proposals exposed conflicts between the US, Ukraine, and Western leaders. Trump’s option to deal directly with Moscow, leaving out Ukraine and Western friends, has shaken the transatlantic alliance.
The change was additional underscored by Trump’s language. He just referred to Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the “dictator” of Ukraine and fraudulently accused Ukraine of starting the war, and warned Zelenskyy to “better move quickly” to reach agreement or face losing the ability to have a country to lead. Zelenskyy hit again, saying Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation place”.
Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are scheduled to visit after this week in Washington on Monday. Just days earlier, these important US friends were united on Ukraine, but now find themselves at odds with Washington’s changing place.
Dorothy Shea, a lieutenant US embassy, argued that the battle had failed because previous UN resolutions had criticized Russia. She said,” What we need is a decision that affirms the commitment of all UN member states to put an end to the war.”
However, Ukrainian deputy foreign minister Mariana Betsa insisted that Ukraine was exercising its “inherent straight to self-defence” and urged nations to take the” part of the Charter, the side of civilization and the side of just and lasting peace, harmony through strength”.
Given that the security council is still paralyzed by Russia’s veto power, the general assembly has taken on a crucial role in addressing the war. The general assembly has passed a number of resolutions pleading with Moscow and requesting an immediate troop withdrawal since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
These demands were reiterated in the Monday resolution, which was supported by the Ukrainians, insisting that no territorial gains made as a result of aggression should be recognized as legitimate. Additionally, it called for a swift resolution of the year’s hostilities.
Before the European amendments were added, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia described the US-drafted resolution as” a good move.” Moscow also made a separate amendment that called for the “root causes” of the conflict to be addressed, but this was left out of the final text.
