As the war of words between the Trump and Zelensky administrations has grown, so has a diplomatic war and rift at the United Nations in New York. It has resulted in a crisis which may result in deadlock over a planned statement commemorating the Ukraine war's three-year mark.
The United States is seeking to stymie a draft resolution Ukraine prepared to bring before the UN Security Council and General Assembly.
The Ukraine resolution has support from European nations, which is intended to call out three years since the Russian invasion, and condemn Moscow.
The Ukrainian proposed text blames Russia for starting the war and calls for its swift end. "In a note to capitals, seen by The Wall Street Journal, U.S. diplomats told European counterparts over the past day that Washington would oppose the Ukrainian resolution if it advances and pressed the Europeans to persuade Kyiv to withdraw its text," WSJ writes.
A Saturday statement on X by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha blasted efforts to alter any resolution in a way that deflects blame from Russia. "The root causes of this war are Putin's denial of Ukraine's right to exist and his wish to destroy our nation," he posted. "This is why Russia started this war, commits atrocities, and tries to change borders by force."
The chief complaint is that the US version makes no reference to who started it.
The Trump administration is reportedly mulling a change proposed by Russia, which is a permanent member of the security council, and this has set off fierce diplomatic conflict, per Reuters:
The U.S. text mourns the loss of life during the "Russia-Ukraine conflict" and reiterates "that the principal purpose of the United Nations is to maintain international peace and security and to peacefully settle disputes."
It also "implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia."
Russia has proposed an amendment to that line - to be voted on by the General Assembly - so it reads "implores a swift end to the conflict, including by addressing its root causes, and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia."
For Russia, key among the root causes is NATO expansion and Western efforts to militarize Ukraine, as well as Kiev's anti-Russia actions in the predominantly speaking Donbass region.
The WSJ underscores that in Trump playing nice with Russia, "The clash pits the U.S. and Russia on one side against Ukraine and Europe on the other, in the most dramatic display of trans-Atlantic tensions in years."
Apparently the US side isn't budging even if the face of strong European push-back and pressure:
The diplomats said the U.S. on Friday asked Ukrainian officials to withdraw their resolution. Ukraine refused. Meanwhile, British and French officials asked Washington to amend its draft. The U.S. said it wouldn’t, the diplomats said.
And the Trump administration is not going to back down, to be sure, as has been evident within only the first month of the Republican president returning to office.
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