The US had sought to kill the Ukrainian co-sponsored resolution, and US diplomats had pressured EU and Ukrainian officials in foreign capitals this weekend to withdraw their resolution before Monday’s vote, according to cables to US embassies and reports in US media.
The United Nations general assembly has backed a resolution drafted by Ukraine and the European Union condemning Russia on the third anniversary of its full-scale invasion, spurning a rival US resolution reflecting Donald Trump’s split with Europe and growing union with Vladimir Putin.
State department officials speaking on background said that the US was in discussions with the UK and France just hours before a vote in the UN security council on a resolution calling for peace that has been broadly dismissed by Ukraine and European countries as whitewashing Russia’s invasion of the country.
US, Russia, Belarus and North Korea vote against resolution as 93 countries vote in favor, spurning rival US resolution.
The United States, Russia, Belarus and North Korea all voted against the EU-Ukrainian resolution underlining an extraordinary shift in US policy since the US president’s election that has largely absolved the Russian president of responsibility for the invasion.
