3 years of Russia-Ukraine war: America pressures Ukraine to scrap UN resolution demanding Russian troops’ withdrawal

Today marks 3 years of the Russia-Ukraine war — a war that began over the eagerness of Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the refusal of Russia to let NATO come to its border, seeing it as a threat. The United Nations is expected to see two votes today — on one resolution drafted by Ukraine and another one by the United States of America.

The world was stunned on 24 February 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion into Ukraine, a development that no one thought would actually occur despite long-standing tensions between giant Russia and a smaller Ukraine.

In the latest round of attempts to bring this seemingly interminable war to an end, recently elected President of the United States Donald Trump has asked Ukraine to drop its United Nations resolution against Russia.

An Associated Press (AP) report, via Press Trust of India, said today — quoting a US official and a European diplomat — that the US has pressured Ukraine to withdraw its European-backed UN resolution demanding an immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine, in favour of an American proposal that does not mention the Russian invasion.

But Ukraine refused to pull its draft resolution, and the UN General Assembly will vote on it today, the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, two European diplomats said.

The 193-nation General Assembly then is expected to vote on the US draft resolution, according to the diplomats and the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because private negotiations are still ongoing.

The Trump administration is also seeking a vote on its proposal in the more powerful UN Security Council. The 15-nation council meets this afternoon on Ukraine, and late on Sunday, it scheduled the vote immediately afterwards, but the European diplomats said that it could be pushed to Tuesday at Russia’s request.

The duelling resolutions — the first since the invasion — highlight the tension between the US, Ukraine, and European countries in the five weeks since President Donald Trump took office and has opened talks with Russia after years of isolation in a bid to end the war.

European leaders were dismayed that they and Ukraine were left out of preliminary negotiations between the US and Russia last week.

The UN General Assembly has become the most important UN body on Ukraine, because the UN Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, has been paralysed by Russia’s veto power.

There are no vetoes in the General Assembly, and its votes are closely watched as a barometer of world opinion. However, its resolutions are not legally binding, unlike those adopted by the Security Council.

Since Russian forces crossed Ukraine’s border on 24 February 2022, the UN General Assembly has adopted half a dozen resolutions condemning the war and demanding the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.

The Assembly votes have shown strong global opposition to Russia’s conflict, and the votes on the rival resolutions today will be closely watched to see if that support has waned — and to assess support for Trump’s effort to bring a speedy end to the war.

Intense lobbying on rival resolutions

One European diplomat said that there has been intense lobbying and arm-twisting on the rival resolutions. The US official said that the US is trying to get Ukraine and the Europeans to back down on their draft. This comes as Donald Trump plans to host French President Emmanuel Macron today in Washington.

The United States believes “this is the moment to commit to ending the war. This is our opportunity to build real momentum toward peace”, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement late on Friday.

He said that “while challenges may arise, the goal of lasting peace remains achievable” and that the resolution would “affirm that this conflict is awful, that the UN can help end it, and that peace is possible”.

The Ukrainian resolution, co-sponsored by the 27-nation European Union, refers to “the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation” and recalls the need to implement all previous assembly resolutions “adopted in response to the aggression against Ukraine”.

It singles out the UN General Assembly’s demand that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders” and its demand to immediately halt all hostilities. And it calls for “a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine”.

The very brief US draft resolution acknowledges “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict” and “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia”. It never mentions the Russian invasion.

Vassily Nebenzia, Russian ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters last week that the US resolution was “a good move”.

Russia also suggested an amendment, seeking to add the phrase “including by addressing its root causes” so the final line of the US resolution reads, “implores a swift end to the conflict, including by addressing its root causes, and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia”.