The United States abstained from signing a statement by members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) condemning Russian aggression on Feb. 26, breaking from its Western allies.
A total of 45 members, including Ukraine, agreed to the WTO statement.
"The decision not to co-sponsor was made in keeping with our position in the United Nations Security Council and U.N. General Assembly earlier this week", a U.S. official told Reuters after the decision.
The statement, proposed during Ukraine’s Trade Policy Review, emphasized members' concerns surrounding the "consequences of (the war's) destruction for Ukraine and for global trade," while explicitly naming Russia as the aggressor.
The move aligns with recent U.S. efforts to soften language on Russia in international statements.
The WTO agreement comes just days after the U.S. voted against a resolution at the UN General Assembly on Feb. 24 condemning Russia's full-scale invasion, with 93 countries voting in favor and 18 against.
The UN resolution, drafted by Kyiv and supported by all EU states except Hungary, reaffirmed Ukraine's territorial integrity. It explicitly named Russia as the aggressor.
On the same day, the General Assembly passed a separate U.S. resolution marking the third anniversary of the invasion. That resolution also received 93 votes in favor but avoided directly calling Russia the aggressor. Ukraine abstained from voting on the U.S. version.
The shift in U.S. language extends across international institutions. The Financial Times reported that the U.S. opposed referring to Russia as the aggressor in a G7 statement commemorating the invasion's anniversary.
U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia while adopting increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Kyiv.
He recently called President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" and falsely claimed Ukraine started the war — before later conceding that "Russia attacked, but they shouldn’t have let him attack."
Despite the developing rift, Kyiv and Washington agreed to a mineral deal agreement, with Zelensky likely headed to Washington for a signing ceremony on Feb. 28.
The Kyiv Independent
(Updated: )
