Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a wartime trip to the UN on Tuesday tried to convince skeptical developing nations they share a stake in Kyiv’s victory.
Taking the rostrum of the UN General Assembly in his trademark military fatigues, Zelenskiy renewed an invitation for world leaders to join a “peace summit” to end the invasion.
“For the first time in modern history, we have the chance to end the aggression on the terms of the nation which was attacked,” Zelenskiy said in a speech met with applause led by Western nations, but many empty seats elsewhere.
Photo: AFP
“This is a real chance for every nation — to ensure that aggression against your state, if it happens, God forbid, will end not because your land will be divided,” but with sovereignty upheld, he said.
He accused Russia of using energy and food as a way to pressure the world, after Moscow ended a UN-backed agreement to let ships of grain sail out of Ukraine.
“The aggressor is weaponizing many other things, and those things are used not only against our country but against all of yours as well,” he said.
Zelenskiy said that Russia’s other neighbors are at risk.
“Russia has almost swallowed Belarus. It is obviously threatening Kazakhstan and the Baltic states,” he said.
US President Joe Biden in his own speech to the UN, with Zelenskiy looking on, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was hoping the world would “grow weary” over Ukraine.
“But I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles [of the UN Charter] to appease an aggressor, can any member state in this body feel confident that they are protected? If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?” Biden said. “We must stand up to this naked aggression today to deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow.”
Russia has met overwhelming criticism at the General Assembly over its invasion, but the focus on the war has also drawn criticism from developing countries that believe it has distracted the West, especially from other urgent priorities.
“It is a grave indictment of this international community that we can spend so much on war, but we cannot support action that needs to be taken to meet the most basic needs of billions of people,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who also met Zelenskiy
During his address, Biden also described the partnerships that Washington was fostering around the globe — from Africa to the Indo-Pacific — that he said were creating economic, security and other advancements, even as he stressed that those relationships were not about “containing any country” — a clear reference to Beijing.
“When it comes to China, let me be clear and consistent,” Biden said. “We seek to responsibly manage competition between our countries so it does not tip into conflict. I’ve said we are for derisking — not decoupling — with China.”
He added that Beijing and Washington need to cooperate on climate, and referenced recent natural disasters — devastating heat waves, droughts and floods around the globe — as part of a “snapshot” that tells the “urgent story of what awaits us if we fail to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and begin to climate-proof the world.”
After the speech, Biden sat down with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and later met with leaders from the C5 group of Central Asian nations: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Saying that cooperation among the nations is at “new heights,” Biden outlined several areas of collaboration including on critical minerals and disability rights.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has stepped up his own courting of those countries. During a summit in May with the Central Asian leaders, Xi promised to build more railway and other trade links with the region and proposed jointly developing oil and gas sources.
“We are stronger, and I genuinely believe the world is safer, when we stand together,” Biden said after the meeting with the leaders.
Additional reporting by AP
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
RSS