UNITED NATIONS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took center stage at the United Nations on Tuesday as US President Joe Biden warned the world against trying to “appease” Russia’s “blatant aggression.”
Zelensky, wearing his distinctive military uniform, joined the annual UN General Assembly for the first time since the war and listened intently as Biden urged solidarity against the Russian invasion.
Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin – who did not come to New York – expects the world “will get fed up and allow him to brutalize Ukraine without consequences.”
“But I ask you this: If we abandon the basic principles of the UN Charter to appease the aggressor, can any member state of this body feel confident that it is protected? And if we allow the partition of Ukraine, will the independence of any country be secure?,” Biden said.
The European Union seeks to extend the right of Ukrainians to remain until 2025
He added: “We must stand up to this blatant aggression today to deter other potential aggressors tomorrow.”
Biden received applause from the hall when he called for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, but many prominent world leaders decided not to attend this year’s UN session, including China and its allies Britain and France.
Zelensky is scheduled to meet leaders less friendly to the Ukraine issue, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who previously said Ukraine was to blame for the war and blamed billions of dollars in Western military aid for Kiev.
Lula, who presents himself as a neutral mediator, told the General Assembly that “work must be done to create space for negotiations.”
“Too much is invested in weapons and too little in development,” Lula said.
Ukraine tells international court that Russia is using genocide as an excuse for destruction
Zelensky, who until recently had been traveling in complete secrecy, will participate on Wednesday in a special session on Ukraine at the UN Security Council, where Russia is a permanent member with veto power over any binding measures. It is also scheduled to stop in Washington.
During his visit to a New York hospital treating wounded Ukrainian soldiers on Monday, Zelensky said the United Nations still provides “a place for Russian terrorists.”
Warnings of a severe climate crisis
Russia faced intense criticism in the General Assembly over its invasion in February 2022, but the focus on the war has also drawn criticism from developing countries who believe it has particularly distracted the West from other pressing priorities.
Secretary-General António Guterres opened the General Assembly with a somber speech highlighting the recent floods that claimed thousands of lives in Derna, Libya.
“Even as we speak, bodies are washing up on shore from the same Mediterranean Sea where billionaires bathe on their luxury yachts,” Guterres said.
“Derna is a sad snapshot of the state of our world – the deluge of inequality, injustice and inability to confront challenges in our midst.”
In similarly grim language, Biden used his speech to highlight floods and wildfires in North America and Europe and drought in the Horn of Africa.
“Taken together, these snapshots tell an urgent story about what lies ahead if we fail to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and begin to protect our world from climate,” Biden said in the excerpts.
Zelensky will use his trip to the United Nations to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who have maintained their ties with Russia – as well as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a key ally.
In a speech at a reception marking the 50th anniversary of Germany’s accession to the United Nations, Schulz expressed concern about “the new divisions emerging in the world.”
“Imperialism is once again showing its ugly face,” he said.
Managing US-China tensions
In his speech, Biden offered reassurances about the intense competition between the United States and China, which has sparked warnings that the world could face a new Cold War.
When it comes to China, I want to be clear and consistent. Biden said: “We seek to manage the competition between our two countries responsibly, so that it does not turn into a conflict.”
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met on the sidelines of the General Assembly on Monday with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in the second high-level meeting within days between the great powers aimed at controlling tensions.
One certainly unexpected meeting at the UN is the one between Biden and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
The Iranian leader headed to the United Nations at a time when Iran and the United States completed the exchange of five prisoners each, after Biden worked to release $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues that were frozen in South Korea.
Biden, who is facing domestic criticism over the agreement with the arch-enemy, pledged at the United Nations to do his best to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
