UN Security Council votes for Moscow-friendly Ukraine resolution

In the dispute between the USA and Europe over the direction of the war in Ukraine, US President Donald Trump has secured the support of the UN Security Council. The most powerful UN body with 15 council members voted in New York for a Moscow-friendly Ukraine resolution by the US government. After many vetoes by Russia, it was the first joint decision on war since the invasion of Ukraine three years ago. In the UN General Assembly before all 193 members, however, the US government was unable to get through a resolution with the same wording.

Trump had underlined his rhetorical turning away from Ukraine and turning towards Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin with the diplomatic advance at the United Nations. The proposed resolution entitled "The Road to Peace" does not name Moscow as the aggressor in the war, does not demand a Russian withdrawal and does not mention the territorial integrity of Ukraine. It simply calls for a rapid end to the war, without naming any conditions.

In the Security Council, the text received a majority of 10 of the 15 votes. Russia and China, among others, voted with the USA, while all five European countries in the Council - Great Britain, France and the non-permanent members Slovenia, Denmark and Greece - abstained. Resolutions in the UN Security Council are binding under international law.

The British and French theoretically have a right of veto, but have not used it since 1989. A change in this practice would have been interpreted as a significant break with their diplomatic line, which both countries were unlikely to want to abandon while the Europeans were trying hard to reach an understanding with Trump.

A deepening of the newly formed rift between the transatlantic partners would also have come at an inopportune time, as French President Emmanuel Macron tried to explore common positions with Trump during his visit to Washington on Monday. Diplomatic circles reported to the German Press Agency, however, that a veto had been considered until the very last minute.

British UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward spoke out clearly against the resolution at the meeting: "There can be no equation between Russia and Ukraine when this body discusses this war." Moscow is to blame for the war of aggression against a sovereign state that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives. France's Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière stated: "There will be no peace and security anywhere if aggression is rewarded."

The acting US ambassador, Dorothy Shea, said that the world was "on the brink of history" and that peace was needed as quickly as possible. She also wanted to reassure the Europeans: "We listen to our European colleagues when they say that they want a lasting peace, but not at any price," she said. They wanted to assure them that the USA also wanted a "lasting peace". The resolution was not a peace agreement and did not entail any costs.

Russia, meanwhile, spoke of a good first step, while China said it supported the US-Russian efforts to achieve peace. Trump is likely to interpret the Security Council's vote as a sign of support for his attempt to force peace together with Putin, even against Ukraine's will if necessary.

But Trump's move also met with significant resistance at the United Nations . Before the vote in the Security Council, the United States had already tried to gain global approval for the change of course in the Ukraine war with an identical draft resolution in the UN General Assembly.

However, the United Nations' largest body prevented the pro-Kremlin resolution: several amendments from EU states, Ukraine and Great Britain received the necessary majority of the 193 UN members, so that the US text subsequently clearly named Russia as the aggressor and was reinterpreted in the Ukrainian sense at crucial points.

Washington ultimately abstained from voting on its amended resolution, as did China, while Russia voted against it with seven states. 93 countries, including Germany and most EU states, voted in favor - a significantly lower level of support for Kyiv than in similar resolutions before.

A second resolution for the General Assembly, drafted by Ukraine itself together with the EU delegation, also saw many abstentions, which is seen as a distancing of these countries from the US-European dispute over the Ukraine policy. Hungary, whose government is considered to be extremely Trump-friendly, broke away and clearly sided with Washington. UN expert Richard Gowan from the Crisis Group think tank spoke of a rather successful European defense of Ukraine in New York in relation to the General Assembly. But he also emphasized that the desire of many countries in the so-called Global South for a quick peace is obvious. The US approach reflects this desire, but has also made many UN members nervous - because it neglects international law, which is intended to protect smaller states from attacks.