United Nations, Feb 25 The UN Security Council adopted a US-drafted resolution appealing for a swift end to the conflict and urging a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine, as the world marked the third anniversary since the full escalation of the crisis.
The resolution received 10 votes in favour, none against, and five abstentions including France, Britain, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia, Xinhua news agency reported.
The document reiterates that the principal purpose of the United Nations, as expressed in the Charter of the United Nations, is to maintain international peace and security and peacefully settle disputes. The resolution implores a swift end to the conflict and mourns the loss of life in the war, without blaming Russia.
Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council that this resolution is not a "peace deal," but "a path to peace."
"It is high time for peace in Ukraine," UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said during the Security Council meeting, while insisting that peace in Ukraine must be "just, sustainable and comprehensive."
The US tabled its own version alongside, entitled “Path to Peace”, a brief draft limited to mourning the loss of life throughout the Russian Federation-Ukraine conflict; reiterating that the principal purpose of the UN is to maintain international peace and security and to peacefully settle disputes; and imploring a swift end to the conflict – urging a lasting peace between Ukraine and the Russia.
Earlier in the day, the UN General Assembly rejected the US draft and passed a resolution submitted by Ukraine and European allies, which backs Ukraine's sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity and calls for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in line with the UN Charter.
Resolutions in the UN Security Council are binding under international law.
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