The vote was 141 to 5. On March 2, 2022, the UN General Assembly demanded that Russia pull its forces out of Ukraine, and the shape of the next four years of diplomacy, economic pressure and stalled talks started to show. None of it has ended the war.
March 2022: the UN vote
Russia vetoed a similar text in the Security Council on February 25, so the Assembly took it up in an emergency session, using the “uniting for peace” procedure for only the eleventh time since 1945. Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria voted no. The Jerusalem Post counted 35 abstentions, among them China, Cuba, India and Iran, with twelve countries absent.
The text deplored Russian aggression “in the strongest terms” and also condemned the decision to raise the readiness of Russia’s nuclear forces. Russia’s envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, insisted his country was carrying out “a special military operation.” EU Ambassador Olof Skoog told the chamber, “The world has spoken.” Assembly resolutions are non-binding, though.
March 2022: Istanbul
On March 29, delegations met at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul. Ukraine put forward a framework built on neutrality, security guarantees from a group of states and a long consultation period on Crimea. Russia answered that it would sharply reduce military activity around Kyiv and Chernihiv. Early in April, Russian forces pulled out of the Kyiv area, and reports from Bucha drew international condemnation, which weakened Ukraine’s willingness to keep talking on the same terms.
December 2022: the oil price cap
The economic track moved separately. The EU tentatively agreed on December 2 to a $60 per barrel cap on Russian seaborne oil, carrying out a G7 proposal. An adjustment mechanism would hold the cap 5 per cent below market price. Poland, Lithuania and Estonia had rejected the first G7 idea of $65-$70 as too generous to Moscow. U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said $60 “would limit Russian revenues.”
The cap and the EU crude embargo, announced on 3 June 2022, took effect on 5 December 2022. A diesel embargo followed on 5 February 2023. Russia has dodged the measures since: Hague Research says that by October 2024, 62% of its crude moved on shadow fleet tankers. The author still argues the sanctions work, because “circumvention is costly and risky.”
February 2023: China’s plan
China published a 12-point paper on 24 February 2023. It called for respecting the “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries,” urged an end to “unilateral” sanctions on Russia, criticized NATO expansion and said nothing on Russian-occupied territory. Zelenskyy was lukewarm. “The fact that China started talking about Ukraine is not bad,” he said, adding that “the question is what follows the words.”
Others were blunter. Jake Sullivan, the U.S. National Security Adviser, said the plan “could stop at point one.” A German government spokesman pointed to the missing “withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.” Moscow’s Maria Zakharova welcomed Beijing’s effort, but spoke of recognizing “new territorial realities.”
2025: Istanbul again
The Turkish city hosted three more rounds. On 16 May 2025 the sides agreed a large prisoner exchange. On 2 June they traded written memoranda and settled on more exchanges, including severely wounded and young prisoners, and on returning bodies. A short third round followed on 23 July 2025 with further exchanges agreed. No ceasefire or political settlement has resulted.
Sources
- UN General Assembly Condemns Russia's Ukraine Invasion (The Jerusalem Post)
- UN General Assembly demands Russian Federation withdraw all military forces from the territory of Ukraine (European External Action Service)
- The EU oil embargo and G-7 price cap on Russian oil (Hague Research)
- EU tentatively agrees $60 price cap on Russian seaborne oil (Prothom Alo, wire report)
- China has released a 12-point Ukraine peace plan. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it's "not bad" (SBS News)
- Istanbul Talks Russia Ukraine Explained: Outcomes & Status (Frontline Diplomacy)
