American diplomats seek softer wording on Crimea and eastern Ukraine
The United States has asked the United Nations to remove or soften language condemning Russia’s occupation of Crimea and other parts of Ukraine. The request came during talks over a draft resolution on human rights in the territories occupied by Russia since 2014. The same resolution has for years reaffirmed Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, directly naming Russia as an occupying power.
Several European diplomats told reporters that the new US position breaks with earlier commitments made by Washington. They said the Biden and Trump administrations had previously backed wording that clearly described Russia’s actions as aggression and the territories as illegally occupied. One diplomat told the Kyiv Post the move showed Washington “walking away from Ukraine’s core interests” at a critical stage in the war.
People familiar with the UN negotiations said the US delegation proposed removing phrases such as “Russian occupation” and “aggression against Ukraine.” They also said the US pushed Ukraine to withdraw its own draft resolution and instead support an American version with milder terms. The Ukrainian delegation rejected that idea and kept working on its original text.
The final resolution has not yet been published, and negotiations are still underway. Diplomats said the US changes would make the text less confrontational toward Moscow and remove direct language about Crimea and the regions seized since 2022.
For years, the United States led efforts to keep international attention on Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territory. In 2018, the State Department said the US “will not recognize Russia’s claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force.” The new approach marks a clear shift away from that position.
The US has not publicly explained its reasoning for softening the resolution. Analysts say it may reflect a broader effort by Washington to avoid direct confrontation with Moscow as it reshapes its foreign policy priorities. Some diplomats believe the change could weaken Ukraine’s diplomatic standing at the UN. Others see it as an attempt by Washington to leave space for new negotiations with Russia.
What remains clear is that the United States is now pressing for less explicit language about the Russian occupation of Ukrainian land in a document that once stood as one of the UN’s clearest statements of support for Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Authored By: Global Geopolitics
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