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
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