In a shocker to the EU, Donald Trump, on Monday, refused to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in a vote of three UN resolutions seeking an immediate end to a three-year war.
The US then abstained from voting on its competing resolution after Europeans, led by France, succeeded in amending it to make it clear that 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.
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.
Also read: Putin backs Trump's proposal to halve defence spending
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 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.
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said her country is exercising its “inherent right to self-defence” following Russia’s invasion, which violates the UN Charter’s requirement that countries respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other nations.
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.
Follow us
