By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that takes a neutral position on the conflict as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to broker peace.
Until now, the 15-member council has been unable to take any action on the conflict in Ukraine because Russia is a veto power. The U.S. resolution received 10 votes in favor, while France, Britain, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia abstained.
“This resolution puts us on the path to peace. It is a first step, but a crucial one, one of which we should all be proud,” acting U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea told the council. “Now we must use it to build a peaceful future for Ukraine, Russia and the international community.”
The short resolution mourns the loss of life in the “Russia-Ukraine conflict”, reiterates the U.N.’s purpose is to maintain international peace and security and peacefully settle disputes, and urges a swift end to the conflict and a lasting peace.
Trump’s mediation efforts have left European allies and Ukraine wary of his focus on Russia and worried they could be cut out of peace talks.
Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward told the council that the terms of peace in Ukraine matter and must “send a message that aggression does not pay.”
“This is why there can be no equivalence between Russia and Ukraine in how this council refers to this war. If we are to find a path to sustainable peace, the council must be clear on the war’s origins,” she said.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY REJECTED US STANCE
Earlier, the 193-member U.N. General Assembly had rejected the U.S. bid to tone down the world body’s long-held stance that backed Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity and called for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in line with the founding U.N. Charter.
The General Assembly adopted two resolutions, one drafted by Ukraine and Europeans and one drafted by the U.S. that was amended by the assembly to include the language supporting Ukraine. Those votes gave Ukraine and European states a diplomatic victory over Washington.
“This war has never been about Ukraine only. It is about a fundamental right of any country to exist, to choose its own path and to live free from aggression,” Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa told the assembly before the vote.
The amended U.S.-drafted resolution won 93 votes in favor in the assembly, while 73 states abstained and eight voted no. Russia failed in a bid to amend the U.S. text to include a reference to the “root causes” of the conflict.
The resolution drafted by Ukraine and European countries passed with 93 votes in favor, 65 abstentions and 18 no votes. Along with the United States, some other countries that voted no were Russia, North Korea and Israel.
“Today our American colleagues have seen for themselves that the road to peace in Ukraine will not be an easy one, and there will be many who will try to make sure that the peace doesn’t come for as long as possible. But this shouldn’t stop us,” Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the assembly.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; additional reporting by Simon Lewis; Editing by Susan Heavey, Alistair Bell and Nia Williams)
