The United States has not yet decided whether it will co-sponsor a United Nations resolution condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine on the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion. In previous years, the US has always backed similar resolutions, standing firmly with Ukraine. This time, however, things seem different.
John Kelly, political coordinator at the US Mission to the UN, told VOA that Washington is still weighing the options.
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“We have not made a decision on this. Washington is still considering it, and I hope we will reach a decision soon,” Kelly said in response to a question about whether the US would co-author the resolution.
He also noted that he was awaiting official instructions from Washington regarding the vote.
Reuters, citing diplomatic sources, reported on Thursday that for the first time, the US is not among the co-sponsors. Despite this, over 50 countries have backed the resolution, and efforts are ongoing to secure further international support, particularly from nations in the Global South.
This adds to the latest moves, signalling a broader shift in US foreign policy. According to the Financial Times, Washington has also resisted calls to label Russia as the “aggressor” in the upcoming G7 statement marking the invasion’s anniversary.
While G7 leaders have used such terminology since 2022, the US officials in the Trump administration now reportedly prefer more neutral phrasing, such as referring to the situation as the “Ukrainian conflict.”
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This softer language has already appeared in recent statements from the State Department, including a readout of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh, where “the conflict in Ukraine” is mentioned twice.
The UN General Assembly is set to vote on the resolution on February 24. While General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, they carry significant political weight, reflecting the international community’s stance on major global issues.
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