Re: [Salon] U.S. votes against U.N. resolution condemning Russia for Ukraine war

https://news.antiwar.com/2025/02/24/us-votes-against-un-general-assembly-resolution-demanding-russian-withdrawal-from-ukraine/

US Votes Against UN Resolution Condemning Russia for Ukraine War

The US representative noted that the UN's resolutions have done nothing to end the war.

by Dave DeCamp

The US and Russia were among 18 nations that voted against a Ukrainian-drafted resolution at the UN General Assembly that condemned Moscow and called for a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion.

The resolution passed in a vote of 93-18, with 65 countries abstaining from voting. The US had been pressuring Ukraine to withdraw the resolution as the Trump administration is seeking better relations with Russia and an end to the proxy war.

The US introduced its own resolution that simply called for peace in Ukraine, but European countries were able to add an amendment that inserted anti-Russian language. After the amendment was added, the US abstained from voting, and the resolution passed in a vote of 93-8 with 73 abstentions.

In remarks to the UN, US Ambassador Dorothy Shea referred to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an “escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war” and said the conflict started “11 years ago,” referring to the war that broke out in Ukraine following the US-backed coup in 2014 that ousted former President Viktor Yanukovych.

The language from Shea marks a significant shift from the Biden administration, which always referred to the war as an “unprovoked” Russian invasion despite the history of US and NATO involvement in Ukraine.

Shea said that the many UN resolutions that have demanded a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine have failed to end the conflict. “Since the start of the war 11 years ago, the United Nations has repeatedly condemned Russia’s blatant violations of the UN Charter. Multiple resolutions of the General Assembly have demanded that Russia withdraw its forces from Ukraine,” she said.

“Those resolutions have failed to stop the war. It has now dragged on for far too long, and at far too terrible a cost to the people in Ukraine, in Russia, and beyond,” Shea added.

Shea also called for an end to the war. “Generations of Ukrainians and Russians have died unnecessarily as the war has brought the world closer to a nuclear confrontation. The longer it continues, the greater the suffering for both nations. This war must end now,” she said.

On Mon, Feb 24, 2025 at 12:58 PM Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com> wrote:

U.S. votes against U.N. resolution condemning Russia for Ukraine war
Washington’s shift on the conflict marks a major break with Europe and coincides with the Trump administration’s bid to repair relations with Moscow.

The Washington Post Updated
February 24, 2025 at 12:19 p.m.
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa speaks Monday during a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York to mark the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images)
By Karen DeYoung and John Hudson
The United States voted with Russia, North Korea, Belarus and 14 other Moscow-friendly countries Monday on a resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine and calling for its occupied territory to be returned that passed overwhelmingly in the U.N. General Assembly on Monday.
The U.S. delegation also abstained on its own separate resolution that called simply for a negotiated end to the war after European-sponsored amendments inserting new anti-Russian language also passed the 193-member body by a wide margin.
The votes were a clear sign of opposition by major U.S. allies as well as countries throughout the Global South who were prepared to buck heavy diplomatic pressure from the Trump administration to support President Donald Trump’s efforts to quickly end the war through direct negotiations with Moscow.
A State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity about the fast-moving diplomacy, said the United States would introduce its resolution at a meeting of the 15-member U.N. Security Council later Monday and would veto any amendments.
“While our partners at the Security Council and in the General Assembly would like to debate the entire situation now, we are much more focused on just getting the parties to the table so that whatever the next step is can be undertaken,” the official said
Richard Gowan, a U.N. expert at the International Crisis Group, said the divide between the United States and Europe marked “the biggest split among Western powers at the U.N. since the Iraq War — and probably even more fundamental.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.