Germany UN Security Council in favor of pro-Moscow Ukraine resolution
The UN Security Council has voted in favor of a pro-Moscow Ukraine resolution by President Donald Trump's US administration. This is the first time that the most powerful UN body has passed a joint resolution on the war. In the Council, the text, which does not name Russia as the aggressor, received 10 votes from the 15 Council members and thus the required majority.
24.02.2025, 23:07
SDA
In the dispute over the future course of action in Ukraine, the USA voted together with Russia and China, among others. In contrast, all five European countries in the Council - the UK, France, Slovenia, Denmark and Greece - abstained. The UK and France theoretically have a right of veto, but have not used it since 1989. Resolutions in the UN Security Council are binding under international law.
The adopted paper entitled "The Road to Peace" does not name Moscow as the aggressor in the war and does not call for a Russian withdrawal; it simply calls for a rapid end to the war.
US ambassador: Resolution not a peace agreement
British UN Ambassador Barabara Woodward spoke out clearly against the resolution: "There can be no equation between Russia and Ukraine when this body talks about this war." Moscow is to blame for a war of aggression against a sovereign state that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives. France's Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière declared: "There will be no peace and security anywhere if aggression is rewarded."
Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea, on the other hand, said that the world was "on the precipice of history" and that peace was needed as soon 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. She wanted to reassure them that the USA was also striving for a "lasting peace". The resolution was not a peace agreement and did not entail any costs.
Previously, a series of amendments proposed by the European states had failed due to vetoes by Russia, among others. In addition, an attempt by France and the UK to postpone the vote by one day to allow more time for negotiations failed.
UN initiative in UN General Assembly unsuccessful
The USA had previously attempted to gain global approval for Trump's change of course in the Ukraine war in the UN General Assembly in New York with an identical draft resolution. This pro-Kremlin initiative was prevented by the largest body of the United Nations. Several amendments from EU member states, Ukraine and the UK received the necessary majorities, with the result that the US text clearly named Russia as the aggressor and reinterpreted it in the Ukrainian sense at key points. Washington abstained from voting on its own resolution, as did China, while Russia and seven other states voted against it. 93 countries, including Germany and most Europeans, voted in favor - significantly less support for Kiev than for similar resolutions before.
The second resolution, drafted by Ukraine itself together with the EU representation, also saw many abstentions, which is seen as a distancing from the US-European dispute over the Ukraine course. This also revealed a transatlantic rift at the UN in diplomatic terms, with Hungary in particular breaking away from the EU and siding with Washington.
Diplomatic turbulence
Before the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there was diplomatic turmoil due to Trump's Ukraine initiative. Observers saw the move as a diplomatic rapprochement with Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin and increasing pressure on Kiev to enter into an agreement against its own will.
UN expert Richard Gowan from the Crisis Group think tank spoke of a successful European defense of Ukraine in New York, even though the desire of many countries in the so-called Global South for peace had become clear. Although the US approach reflected this desire, it also made many UN members nervous, as it neglected international law - and thus protection for smaller states against attacks.
