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The US voted against the UN general assembly resolution alongside Russia, Belarus and North Korea
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The United States joined Russia, North Korea and Belarus in voting against a UN resolution condemning Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The Kyiv-drafted resolution, which called on Putin’s forces to withdraw from Ukrainian territory immediately, passed with 93 votes in favour at the UN General Assembly. China abstained alongside 64 other countries.
The US proposed its own motion calling for an end to the three-year-long war which did not condemn Russia as the aggressor in the conflict, and had urged other countries to back it.
It was a three-paragraph resolution that did not single out Moscow for any responsibility in the conflict. The text called for a “swift end to the conflict and a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.”
This also passed after European amendments changed the wording to condemn Russia. The US abstained on the vote alongside China and Hungary. Russia voted against it.
It comes as British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer refrained from criticising Donald Trump as he urged the US to provide a “backstop” to protect Ukraine in any peace agreement.
Russian president Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers on Ukrainian soil as part of a peace deal, Donald Trump claimed.
Mr Trump claimed Mr Putin had “no problem” with the idea at a White House meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron.
“Yeah, he will accept it,” Mr Trump said. “I have asked him that question. Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for World War.”
Donald Trump and French president Emmanuel Macron are currently meeting in front of cameras at the White House.
Mr Trump told reporters the war in Ukraine “could end within weeks” and said he “does not see a problem with sending European troops as peacemakers”.
As well as mentioning he could meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy “this week or next week”, Mr Trump has also confirmed he will meet Vladimir Putin “at some point”.
The United States is in “serious” discussions for economic development with Russia, US president Donald Trump said.
Writing on Truth Social, Mr Trump said: “I am in serious discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia concerning the ending of the War.
“And also major Economic Development transactions which will take place between the United States and Russia.”
The US was alongside Russia, North Korea and Belarus in voting against a Kyiv-drafted UN resolution condemning Moscow’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The resolution passed with 93 votes in favour. Eighteen countries, including the US, Russia, Belarus and North Korea, voted against it. China abstained alongside 64 other countries.
The US proposed its own motion calling for an end to the three-year-long war which did not condemn Russia as the aggressor in the conflict.
It was a three-paragraph resolution that did not single out Moscow for any responsibility in the conflict. It “implores a swift end to the conflict and urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.”
This also passed after EU amendments changed the wording to condemn Russia. The US abstained on the vote alongside China and Hungary. Russia voted against it.
Eastern European countries with Russian-speaking populations could be at risk of Russian invasion, Volodymyr Zelensky warned.
The “most dangerous moment”, he said is when countries in Eastern Europe have people with “Russian roots” – not because they themselves pose any threat, but because the Kremlin will use their safety as a pretence for invasion.
Mr Zelensky named Poland, Slovakia, Latvia, Moldova and Estonia.
It was the same, he added, when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and invaded the Donbas.
“At the very beginning, they said that they are not occupying our territories… they defend Russian-speaking people,” he said.
Labour defence select committee chair Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi has called on Keir Starmer to “take a lead” on defence in Europe.
It comes as both foreign secretary David Lammy and his Tory shadow Dame Priti Patel have said Europe needs to shoulder more of the burden of defence in Europe.
Mr Singh Dhesi said that “transactional relationships” with allies like the US can no longer be relied on and pushed for Sir Keir to take more of a lead.
His words were echoed in even stronger terms by Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller who said “President Trump has shown he cannot be trusted on defence”.
However, Mr Lammy continues to carefully walk the tightrope and say he agrees with Trump in wanting to bring peace and Europe to spend more on defence.
Ukraine and the US are working “productively” on a controversial rare earth minerals deal, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Donald Trump has demanded preferential access to around $500bn of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals under the agreement as repayment for Washington’s military support over the last three years.
Last week, Mr Zelensky dismissed the idea as “not serious”, saying there was no factual basis for claiming the US was owed $500bn, as well as the deal providing Ukraine with no security guarantees.
On Sunday, Mr Zelensky again refused to acknowledge the $500bn figure and said grants should not be treated as loans. He said there could be no format for the deal if it forced Ukraine to repay money for aid already given to Kyiv.
“I will not sign what ten generations of Ukrainians will have to pay back,” the Ukrainian leader said.
However, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Olga Stefanishyna said on Monday that the deal was in the final stages of negotiations and “nearly all key details” have been finalised.
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