Ahead of UN showdown on Ukraine, US urges countries to vote no on rival European bid for action

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States is urging the United Nations General Assembly to back its resolution to mark the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Monday, oppose any amendments and vote no on a rival text drafted by Ukraine and European allies.

In a diplomatic note sent on Sunday and reviewed by Reuters, the United States described its brief resolution as "a forward-looking resolution focused on one simple idea: ending the war."

"Through this resolution, Member States can build real momentum towards international peace and security, the maintenance of which is the principal purpose of the United Nations," it said, asking countries to "vote no on any other resolution or amendments presented" during Monday's meeting.

The U.S. draft resolution, put forward on Friday, pits it against Ukraine and the European Union, which have for the past month been negotiating with U.N. member states on their own resolution on the war in Ukraine, which repeats the U.N. demand that Russia withdraw its troops and halt hostilities.

The 193-member U.N. General Assembly has overwhelmingly repeatedly backed Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders since the war began. The U.S. draft makes no reference to that.

The U.S. text mourns the loss of life during the "Russia-Ukraine conflict", reiterates that the U.N.'s main purpose is to maintain international peace and security and peacefully settle disputes. It "implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia."

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS

The 15-member Security Council is also set to vote on the same U.S. text later on Monday, diplomats said. A council resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the U.S., Russia, China, Britain or France to be adopted.

The U.S. push for U.N. action comes after President Donald Trump launched a bid to broker an end to the war, sparking a rift with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and raising concerns among European allies that they could be cut out of peace talks. U.S. and Russian officials met on Tuesday.

The General Assembly is set to vote on several proposed amendments to the U.S. draft resolution.

Russia has proposed amending the U.S. draft to reference addressing the "root causes" of the war. Russia called its 2022 invasion a "special military operation" designed to "denazify" Ukraine and halt an expansion of NATO.

Britain and 24 European Union states have also proposed amendments to the U.S. draft in the General Assembly.

They want to describe the conflict as "the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation," back Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and implore "just, lasting and comprehensive peace" in line with the U.N. Charter and principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity.

General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry political weight, reflecting a global view on the war. No country holds a veto in the assembly.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Michael Perry)