The United States has achieved this Monday that the UN Security Council approves that, hours before, it had not exceeded the filter of the General Assembly. The text, which avoids any reference to an “invasion” or the word “war” itself, has had the support of ten countries, including that of Russia and that of China, while the European representation has chosen to refrain. France and the United Kingdom, which could have exercised their right to veto, have chosen not to do so.
The approved resolution, which has been written with a careful neutral tone, something unprecedented in the American diplomacy of recent years, avoids the use of the word war and is only limited to talking about a “conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation” . The document is limited to “demanding a rapid end” of hostilities and urges to achieve “lasting peace.” The approval of the text is the last episode that shows the change direction that the new Trump administration has given to the relations of the United States with Ukraine, which only one month after returning to the White House has altered the international board betting on a direct dialogue with Moscow to the detriment of unconditional support to kyiv.
Hours before, however, United States diplomacy did not start its day at the New York headquarters. The day has also exposed the fracture that exists now in the traditional alliance formed by the US government and Europe, confronted with Washington for issues such as or political interference. In the session of the General Assembly, the US has voted against a resolution presented by Ukraine in which the immediate withdrawal of Russia of its territory was required. Despite the vote against, the text has been approved with 93 votes in favor, 18 against and 65 abstentions.
Another example has also been the abstention of the United States delegation during the vote of its own resolution. American diplomacy has opted for the option after a group of European countries was able to introduce a series of amendments into the text that reaffirmed the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The Vice Minister of Exteriors of Ukraine, Mariana Betsa, has warned during his speech in the General Assembly that “this war has never been only on Ukraine. It is the fundamental right of any country to exist, to choose its own path and live free of aggression “. A clear message that underlines the growing concern kyiv before him. All this has happened precisely, the day in which the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, and that of the United States, Donald Trump, to talk about these bilateral negotiations.
Europe distances itself from the American position
Regarding the vote of the Security, France and the United Kingdom Council, their discontent with the US resolution has expressed before the vote. The British ambassador, Barbara Woodward, has been blunt: “The terms of peace in Ukraine matter and must make it clear that the aggression does not come out for free” and insists that “there can be no equivalence between Russia and Ukraine in the form that this council Talk about war. ”
However, neither France nor the United Kingdom have exercised their right to veto that, if we add the lack of consensus among European countries, has allowed the approval of the text that the United States had presented. Denmark, Greece, Slovenia and all EU delegations that participate in the Council have refrained, which consolidates a division that until recently seemed unthinkable in the western block.
The approved text, with the vote in favor of Russia and the first since, is considered one of the shortest out of the Security Council in recent years although, according to the US interim ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, ” This resolution puts us on the path of peace.
Trump marks the line with its negotiation strategy
The White House initiative has not surprised political analysts, who already saw in Trump’s new foreign policy a will to reduce tension with the Kremlin. In practice, this means a distancing from the positions of Brussels and kyiv, which have based their strategy on diplomatic pressure and Russia isolation.
The change has also been reflected during the text negotiation. While France and the United Kingdom requested a postponement of the vote until Tuesday so that modifications could be introduced, the United States delegation has refused. The speed with which the resolution has also been promoted has also prevented the countries of the European Union from having been able to agree on a common position.
In 2022 and 2023, the UN had approved resolutions in favor of Ukraine with an overwhelming majority: 141 favorable votes both occasions. But this Monday’s vote has made it clear that support for kyiv is weakening outside the European bloc. Hungary decision to refrain in the General Assembly has been another sign of the fragmentation that opens within the EU around this crisis.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasili Nebenzia, has valued what happened as a sign that “the path to peace in Ukraine will not be easy”, but stressed that “we should not let that stop us.” His words reflect Kremlin’s will to take advantage of this situation to reinforce his position in an eventual peace negotiation.
At the moment, it remains to be seen what will be the impact of the resolution approved on the Security Council, since their decisions are binding, unlike those of the General Assembly. With this maneuver, Washington has shown that its approach to Ukraine has changed and that the gap with Europe, far from closing, continues to expand.
