US to veto any amendments to its Ukraine proposal at Security Council

WASHINTON: The United States threatened Monday to veto any amendments, including by its European allies, to a proposed Security Council resolution that urges a "swift end" to the Ukraine war without mentioning territorial integrity.

"We're going to veto a Russian amendment if it comes to us in the Security Council, we will veto the Europeans' amendments if they come to us in the Security Council," a State Department official said on condition of anonymity.

The official said that President Donald Trump's administration was focused on the Security Council and not a separate earlier vote at the General Assembly to mark the third anniversary of Russia's invasion.

"The intent is to keep the resolution noise-free, thin and to the basics of what the president wants us to do, which is use the United Nations to find a way to peace," the official said.

The four EU members on the Security Council and Britain plan to submit amendments to the text to describe Russia as the aggressor and to insist on Ukraine's territorial integrity, according to a diplomatic source.

Former US president Joe Biden strongly backed Ukraine's territorial integrity and sought to isolate Russia but Trump has shifted gears and proposed normalizing relations with Moscow.