US votes with Russia: West splits at UN, unprecedented situation

Dario Mazzocchi February 25, 2025

On the same side at the UN Glass Palace in New York, in a change of international scenario that serves as a preamble to the next contacts between the two countries to seek a solution to the conflict underway in Ukraine. The United States and Russia voted against the United Nations resolution that called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory and that contained the wording "aggressor" reserved for Moscow. At the United Nations Security Council, with the support of Russia, the United States resolution that calls for a rapid peace in Ukraine was passed, with the abstention of the four EU countries (France, Slovenia, Greece, Denmark) and the United Kingdom.

A move, as far as the American side is concerned, anticipated last week and which was fulfilled yesterday and which marks a gap with NATO allies, since many European delegations appear among the states that supported the resolution presented by Kiev. Among those against it, however, are Israel, Iran, North Korea, Belarus and Hungary, while China abstained: an unusual intersection of "alliances". The United States also abstained on a second separate resolution that to facilitate a rapid negotiated end to the war, after the European delegations had inserted an amendment that contained a tone deemed too anti-Russian.

I love Italy, Meloni a wonderful woman: Trump (with Macron at his side) drives the EU and the left crazy

Thus, while French President Emmanuel Macron flew to the White House to meet Donald Trump , diplomatic tensions between the two sides of the Atlantic Ocean are once again high. During the frenetic day, the G7 meeting was also held with participants connected remotely and attended by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The meeting, during which Ukrainian leader Volodomir Zelenksy spoke at the opening, relaunched the participants' support for ending the conflict. The final objective, shared by Italy, remains that of reaching a just and lasting peace to avoid the emergence of future crises.

The intentions, including that of a Euro-Atlantic bond for the security of the Old Continent, are all there. In fact, yesterday in Kiev the absence of American representatives was noticeable on the occasion of the ceremony for the third anniversary of the outbreak of the war. On the contrary, there were some faces of the European Union, including the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and prime ministers and heads of state of the Baltic republics, the most worried by Putin's moves.

Von der Leyen took the opportunity to predict Ukraine's entry into the EU by 2030 if the reform program launched on some issues related to justice and democratic participation continues "at this speed". Also yesterday, the EU introduced new sanctions against Russia.

They include a ban on aluminum imports and further restrictions on the export of certain technologies, such as software for the exploration of gas and oil deposits. The axe also targets Moscow's propaganda, with the suspension of broadcasting licenses for eight newspapers. Open doors in Europe, but not in NATO according to Mike Waltz, Trump's national security advisor. Joining the Atlantic Alliance "is not on the table", despite Zelensky's move to resign to facilitate his country's entry.

"I don't see the United States allowing Ukraine to join NATO and then immediately being obligated, under Article 5, to deploy American troops directly into the conflict in defense of Ukraine," Waltz said in an interview with Fox News. Different approaches, then. Relations with Russia remain a priority for the United States and in this sense a second meeting with Putin's emissaries in Saudi Arabia has been scheduled: a repeat of what happened a week ago between Marco Rubio, in his capacity as Secretary of State, and Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister. The meeting is considered "a sign of progress" by some sources. The same definition used by Zelensky to describe the work done on the trade agreement with Washington as part of the package to stop military operations. The statement came during the same G7, to which Trump was obviously connected: a sign of détente in a very hectic day.