US votes with Russia and China against a resolution condemning attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure

The United States voted on Thursday along with Russia, China and Niger against a resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that condemned the attacks against Ukraine's power grid as a threat to nuclear security, Agerpres reports citing Reuters.

The IAEA Board of Governors, made up of representatives from 35 countries, nevertheless adopted the resolution – the seventh in the four years since Russia invaded Ukraine.

In a statement to the council before the vote, the US said it continued to support the IAEA's work in Ukraine, but not the council's current assessment of a resolution “that does not help to achieve peace between Ukraine and Russia”.

In the context of that explanation, the Reuters agency recalls that last year US President Donald Trump pressured Kiev to accept a quick peace agreement, which would have involved accepting the ceding of some Ukrainian territories to Russia – a solution categorically rejected by Ukraine.

According to diplomatic sources, the Council of this UN agency based in Vienna adopted the resolution on Thursday with 20 votes in favor – including those of France, Great Britain, Australia and Canada. There were ten abstentions and four against, the United States' one being a first.

The text of the resolution, which Reuters had access to, shows that attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure endanger the supply of nuclear power plants, including the one in Zaporozhye, the largest in Europe, which is under the control of Russian forces.

Reuters appreciates that the terms used in the resolution are less firm than the one adopted in February by the UN General Assembly with 107 votes in favor, 12 against and 51 abstentions – including the United States.

And then, the US argued that the text approved by the General Assembly hijacks the ongoing negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.