In what appears as a turning point in world geopolitics and a dramatic turning point in transatlantic relations, the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution on the third anniversary of the Russian Ukraine invasion, assuming a neutral position on the conflict. And he did it with a joint vote of the United States of Donald Trump and Russia by Vladimir Putin and with the abstention of European countries. The very short approved text asks for the “rapid end of the war” without however mentioning Moscow as an attacker and without referring to Kiev’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The vote
The text, “in its elegant simplicity”, as the American representative Dorothy Shea (the new permanent representative of the Trump Administration, Elise Stefanik, must be confirmed by the Senate), was adopted with 10 votes in favor, none Contrary and five abstentions, that is, all European countries of the Security Council: France, Slovenia, Greece and Denmark and the United Kingdom. Paris and London could have blocked the text using their right of veto, the right they have not exercised since 1989, the year of the fall of the Berlin Wall, but have chosen the abstention while criticizing the document.
“This war is illegal, a clear violation of the United Nations Charter and a threat to the founding principles of the UN. Nobody wants peace more than Ukraine, but the terms of this peace are important”, commented the British ambassador Barbara Woodward, while his French counterpart, Nicolas de Rivière, insisted on “a peace that cannot in any way be synonymous with the capitulation of the aggregated”.
The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vassily nebedia, who recognized “constructive changes” in the Washington position on the conflict, exulted. The diplomat declared to the Council that the resolution “is not ideal”, but “it is a starting point for future efforts towards a peaceful solution”.
Different position to the General Assembly
The Security Council, made up of 15 members, of which are five permanent, is the true decision -making organ of the UN, but remained in stall for the duration of the war and has not been able to undertake any action because Russia holds the right of veto .
During the day, at the General Assembly, which brings together all the member countries of the UN and whose votes, although not binding, are considered the most indicative of the actual will of the countries of the world, a different resolution had passed that asked for compliance with the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The text recognized that it is “urgent” to end the war “this year” and unequivocally reiterated the previous requests of the assembly: the immediate withdrawal of the Russian troops from the Ukrainian territory and the end of the hostilities led by Moscow.
The resolution, presented by Kiev with the support of almost all the countries of the European Union, had been approved by 93 states, including Italy, and rejected by 18, while 65 governments had abstained. Among the opposites, both the United States of Donald Trump and the Russia of Vladimir Putin, as well as Israel.
