U.S. Sides With Russia, China Against Ukraine in U.N. Vote --- Resolution calls for swift end to war, but doesn't offer blame; Trump courts Putin

"The U.S. sided with Russia and China to win the United Nations Security Council's backing for a resolution crafted in Washington that didn't blame Moscow for the Ukraine war and called for a swift end to the conflict, as President Trump said he was in talks with Russia about an economic-development deal.

Trump's comments and the U.S.'s actions at the U.N. on Monday illustrated the extent to which the president has changed the U.S.'s posture toward the region, coming on the same day European leaders gathered in Ukraine's capital.

Unlike the General Assembly, the 15-member U.N. Security Council has decision-making powers. The U.S. secured 10 votes from the Security Council in favor of its resolution. Five European countries abstained, including the U.K. and France, underscoring the widening gulf between Europe and the U.S. over the Ukraine conflict.

France and Britain both have veto powers on the Security Council, but were reluctant to use them against Washington, diplomats said. President Emmanuel Macron of France met with Trump at the White House on Monday, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to meet with Trump in Washington this week.

The Biden administration took pride in leading Western powers in an alliance against President Vladimir Putin of Russia, marshaling a far-reaching effort to punish Moscow through economic sanctions. Then-President Joe Biden, a Democrat, emerged as a leading critic of Putin on the world stage and framed the conflict as one of democracy versus autocracy.

But Trump, a Republican, has positioned himself as a dealmaker willing to negotiate directly with Russia's leader to end the war, and he suggested on Monday that he is willing to revive economic relations with Russia, potentially unraveling the Biden administration's efforts. He has also stressed that U.S. taxpayers will benefit from his negotiations via access to mineral deposits.

Following the meeting at the White House on Monday with Macron, Trump said his administration is "making a decisive break" with Biden's approach and is on the verge of signing an agreement with Ukraine that would provide the U.S. with access to that country's natural resources. Key to the deal, Trump said, is that U.S. taxpayers can "recoup" some of the billions of dollars spent defending the Eastern European nation.

Macron, standing next to Trump at a news conference in the East Room of the White House, emphasized that any accord to end the conflict should include an expansive security guarantee for Ukraine and that he envisions peacekeepers on the ground to enforce it. He also suggested that Trump had agreed that the U.S. would play some unspecified role in supporting a peacekeeping mission.

"Europeans are ready to engage to provide for these security guarantees -- and now there's a clear American message that the U.S., as an ally, is ready to provide that solidarity for that approach," Macron said. "That's a turning point, in my view, and that is one of the great areas of progress that we've made during this trip."

A White House official said Monday evening that the agreement Trump is seeking will not include a guarantee to Ukraine for future aid for conflict or any commitment to send U.S. personnel in the region.

The U.S. refused to accept any amendments to its resolution at the Security Council later Monday.

 Trump wrote on social media that he is in "serious discussions" with Putin about "major Economic Development transactions which will take place between the United States and Russia."

Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon that the economic discussions with Russia were in their early stages. "They have very valuable things that we could use, and we have things that they could use," he said. But he acknowledged that it might not "come to fruition."

Russia, like Ukraine, has large deposits of rare-earth elements. Trump suggested that a deal with Russia could be similar to one that he was trying to craft with Ukraine in which he wants the U.S. to have access to that country's natural resources.

Trump said the U.S. is "getting very close" to striking a minerals deal with Ukraine. He said he hoped to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine at the White House in the coming weeks to sign the deal. The country is rich in deposits that are essential for everything from cellphones to the defense industry.

Zelensky has said the administration should offer a better deal on mineral rights, saying the current U.S. offer demanded ruinous financial contributions from Ukraine.

A deal giving the U.S. access to Ukraine's mineral deposits could provide a new incentive for the Trump administration to help the country. "I call it an economic security guarantee," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday on Fox News. He said that more investment through U.S. companies in Ukraine means that the U.S. will have more interest in Ukraine's future." [1]

1. U.S. Sides With Russia, China Against Ukraine in U.N. Vote --- Resolution calls for swift end to war, but doesn't offer blame; Trump courts Putin. Norman, Laurence; Linskey, Annie; Lytvynenko, Jane.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 25 Feb 2025: A1.