The United States is refusing to co-sponsor a draft United Nations (UN) resolution that backs Kyiv’s territorial integrity and condemns Russian aggression, reported Reuters citing three diplomatic sources. This motion marks three years of the Ukraine war as the nation’s most powerful Western ally suggests a potential start shift.
The move mirrors the growing rift between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump, who is trying to end the war in Ukraine. Recently, top US and Russian officials held talks in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, without any leaders from Kyiv or Europe.
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Draft resolution for UNGA
According to Reuters, the draft resolution for the UN General Assembly condemns Russian aggression and reaffirms a commitment “to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.”
The US decision not to co-sponsor the motion is a major blow to Ukraine, which has used tens of billions of dollars of US military aid agreed upon under former president Joe Biden’s administration.
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“In previous years, the United States has consistently co-sponsored such resolutions in support of a just peace in Ukraine,” a source told Reuters on Thursday (Feb 20).
According to the report, the resolution was being sponsored by over 50 nations. However, the source did not identify which countries.
While the deadline to back the draft resolution is not clear, a source said, “For now, the situation is they (the US) won’t sign it.”
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White House adviser urges Ukraine to ‘tone down’
Meanwhile, the White House continued its efforts to bring the Russia-Ukraine conflict to an end, urging Kyiv to rein in criticism and sign a minerals deal introduced by Trump.
“They need to tone it down and take a hard look and sign that deal,” Mike Waltz, the White House national security adviser, said in an interview with Fox News. He added that the pushback from Ukraine on the deal is simply unacceptable given everything the US has done for Ukraine.
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Waltz’s remarks come a day after Trump and Zelensky exchanged insults, with Trump calling the Ukrainian leader a dictator and Zelensky saying that the US President was living in a disinformation bubble.
However, Waltz said that differences between the US and Ukraine were not irreconcilable, saying “The president also said how much he loves the Ukrainian people.”
Waltz also denied that US allies and Ukraine were not being consulted in the talks saying “There’s a term for this in diplomacy. It’s called shuttle diplomacy, because bringing everybody to the table at once just hasn’t worked in the past.”
“So we’ve engaged one side, we’ve engaged the other side, and then we’re going to have a process moving forward under President Trump’s direction and leadership.”
(With inputs from agencies)