A United States (US)-drafted resolution for and end to the Ukraine war was approved by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Tuesday marking a shift in the balance of power in the UN body charged with ensuring international peace and security.
Ten members of the UNSC, including the US and Russia, voted in favor of the resolution that excludes mention of the latter as the aggressor in the war and which Washington did not vote for at the UN General Assembly earlier in the day after Ukraine and its European allies’ revision of its text included preserving the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
No UNSC members voted against the resolution and five abstained, namely France, Britain, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia.
France and Britain notably could have vetoed the resolution, which merely “implores a swift end to the conflict” without blaming Russia.
A European-backed peace resolution subjected to voting at the General Assembly won 93 votes for and 18 votes against, with 65 abstentions. Washington sided with Moscow and Russian allies Belarus, North Korea and Sudan to vote against the text that was reworded by Ukraine’s allied to strongly criticize Russia, and emphasize Ukraine’s territorial integrity and inviolability of its borders.
Voting on the UNGA and UNSC resolutions follow the rift between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, which the former called a dictator.
The UNSC vote also overshadowed the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House in a bid to persuade Trump to align with Europe’s position of giving Ukraine security guarantee and the return of territories annexed by Russia —Crimea in 2014 and the Donetsk region in 2022 — in exchange for a ceasefire.
The International Crisis Group’s Richard Gowan said the EU won a “moral victory” in the UNGA, but warned European diplomats will “worry that Russia and the US will route more resolutions on Ukraine through the UNSC — potentially including asking for an endorsement of whatever deal Trump and Putin cook up.”
The inviolability of Ukrainian territorial integrity was a cornerstone of previous resolutions passed at the UN, with the US under former president Joe Biden among its strongest supporters.
“Neither these amendments, nor the resolution offered by Ukraine will stop the killing. The UN must stop the killing. We urge all Member States to join us in returning the UN to its core mission of international peace and security,” said Washington’s envoy to the UN, Dorothy Shea, ahead of the votes.
She later hailed the Security Council’s passage of “an historic landmark agreement on Ukraine.”
“We call on all other UN member states to join the United States in pushing for a durable peace that will bring stability to Europe and deter further aggression,” said Shea.