At UN, US votes with Russia, refusing to support Ukraine

Three years after the Russian invasion, Donald Trump's United States allied itself with Russia on Monday, February 23, in unprecedented votes at the UN on the Ukrainian conflict, pushing their idea of ​​a quick peace without condemnation of Moscow or defense of Ukraine's borders. While Joe Biden's administration had always supported Kiev, the American votes in the General Assembly and the Security Council highlight the radical change in American policy with the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House. Washington hailed a "historic agreement" through the voice of its ambassador to the UN.

On Monday morning, a first resolution prepared by Ukraine and its European allies was adopted in the Assembly by 93 votes in favor, 18 against, and 65 abstentions, out of 193 member states. A success for its supporters, even if Ukraine has lost many supporters, including that of Donald Trump's United States who voted against, alongside Belarus, Mali, Nicaragua, North Korea, and Hungary, but also Russia, whose ambassador Vassili Nebenzia denounced "an anti-Russian piece of paper" . The resolution recognizes that it is "urgent" to end the war "this year" , and unequivocally repeats the Assembly's previous demands: immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory and cessation of hostilities led by Russia.

Defying Kiev and its European allies, the United States, for its part, submitted to the Assembly a competing resolution calling for a rapid end to the conflict without reference to Ukraine's territorial integrity, at a time when Donald Trump has begun a rapprochement with the Kremlin and multiplied his invectives against his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, now under pressure. The very short text which "urged that the conflict be ended as soon as possible and advocates for a lasting peace" was not put to the vote as it was.

It was indeed largely modified by several amendments from European countries clearly pointing the finger at Russia for this conflict, affirming its attachment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine and demanding a "just peace" . The amended text was adopted by 93 votes in favor, 8 against and 73 abstentions. The representatives of some thirty allies of Ukraine welcomed "the strong message" of the Assembly, in a statement read by Mariana Betsa. "Any peace that risks rewarding aggression increases the risk that any country in the world will suffer a similar aggression" , they insisted, evoking the threat of a "precedent" .

But the original American text was then submitted to the Security Council, where the United States this time recorded a victory. "This resolution represents a path to peace", "it is not a peace agreement that costs anything" , justified the American ambassador ad interim Dorothy Shea, denouncing the "rhetorical rivalries in New York" which do not "save lives on the battlefield" .

After all the amendments proposed by the four EU members (France, Slovenia, Greece, Denmark) and the UK were rejected, the resolution was adopted by 10 votes in favour and none against. The same five European countries abstained, including France and the UK, which could have chosen to block the adoption by using their veto for the first time since 1989. "This war is illegal, a clear violation of the UN Charter and a threat to the founding principles of the UN. No one wants peace more than Ukraine, but the terms of this peace are important," commented British Ambassador Barbara Woodward, while her French counterpart Nicolas de Rivière insisted on "a peace that can in no way be synonymous with the capitulation of the aggressor."