Trump Admin Pushes to Weaken Ukraine Resolution on Russian Occupation at UN

WASHINGTON, DC, November 12 ------ In a surprise reversal that has alarmed Ukraine and its allies in the UN, the Trump administration is pushing to strip language from a resolution that affirms the country’s territorial integrity and condemns Russia’s occupation of Crimea and other regions, according to two people familiar with internal UN discussions.

The annual resolution, submitted by Ukraine to the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly – formally titled: “Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol” – has for years been a diplomatic mainstay, reaffirming international support for the war-torn country’s sovereignty and documenting human-rights abuses in Russian-held areas.

Last December, the US joined 77 other countries in voting for the measure, which passed with 78 votes in favor. The text explicitly recognized Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, condemned Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and detailed the worsening human-rights situation in occupied territories. Now, Washington wants those references removed. Two diplomatic sources told Kyiv Post that the US side is pressing for the resolution to be recast under the broader label of the “war in Ukraine,” without references to “territorial integrity” or “aggression.”

Western partners privately fear that the move would effectively water down the UN’s most consistent annual rebuke of Russia’s invasion – and signal a sharp break from the bipartisan consensus that had held since 2014. “This is another example of Washington walking away from Ukraine’s core interests at a critical diplomatic juncture,” one European envoy told Kyiv Post on Sunday. “If the language goes, the message to Moscow is that the US is no longer leading the defense of the international order.”

Source: kyivpost.com