President Joe Biden on Tuesday defended American leadership abroad and reaffirmed U.S. support for Ukraine in a high-profile speech at the United Nations — as the 2024 presidential election looms at home.
Biden particularly reiterated U.S. support for reshaping the way the World Bank and other multilateral development banks work with low- and middle-income countries. The move is an implicit counterbalance to China’s longstanding investments in developing countries around the world.
“The United States strives for a safer, more prosperous and fairer world for all people because we know our future is linked to yours,” Biden said in his remarks, emphasizing global unity. “Let me repeat that again. We know that our future is tied to yours. And no nation can meet today’s challenges alone.”
The president’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday also touched on climate change, artificial intelligence, expanding the United Nations Security Council, investing in the “Global South” and more.
“We gather again at a turning point in world history,” Biden said. “I understand my country’s duty at this critical moment.”
“As President of the United States, I understand my country’s duty to lead this critical moment, to work with countries in every region, to unite them in a common cause, to join forces with partners who share a common vision of the world’s future.” , where our children don’t go hungry and everyone has access to quality healthcare, where workers are empowered and our environment is protected, where entrepreneurs and innovators everywhere have access to opportunity, where conflicts are resolved peacefully and countries can chart their own course. “
President Joe Biden speaks at the 78th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, September 19, 2023. Mike Segar/Portal
Biden concluded his speech by addressing Ukraine and taking on Russia – which he said is responsible for an “illegal war of conquest waged without provocation.”
“No nation wants this war to end more than Ukraine,” the president said. “We strongly support Ukraine in its efforts to reach a diplomatic solution that creates a just and lasting peace. Russia alone bears responsibility for this war.”
Biden said sovereignty and territorial integrity are central to the United Nations Charter and called continued support for Ukraine an investment to protect those principles for all countries.
“If we allow Ukraine to be divided, will the independence of a nation be secured?” Biden asked. “I respectfully suggest that the answer is no. We must confront this naked aggression today and deter other potential aggressors tomorrow.”
“That is why the United States, together with our allies and partners around the world, will continue to stand with the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereignty, territorial integrity and freedom,” he continued, drawing applause from the audience .
Biden’s presence on the world stage comes a week after he returned from a trip to India and Vietnam, where he focused on reforming the country at a meeting of Group of 20 leaders in New Delhi, India, and Hanoi, Vietnam Development Bank had agreed to significantly improve relations between the US and Vietnam.
United Nations and U.S. flags fly in front of the United Nations headquarters ahead of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 18, 2023 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images
It is also being held at the White House, and Biden’s campaign aims to present him as a global leader who delivers results for American leaders – who work hard – in contrast to former President Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner, they say presidential primary. He will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Thursday as both men push Congress to approve $24 billion more in funding for Kiev, despite objections from some House Republicans.
According to the White House, Biden will also meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York on Wednesday.
Officials declined to provide further information about the long-delayed meeting with Netanyahu or explain why it is being held on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly and not at the White House. Netanyahu returned to power late last year, and Biden deliberately took nearly nine months to arrange a meeting with him.
Israeli prime ministers often meet with US counterparts much more quickly; Biden, however, called Netanyahu’s government the most extreme in decades and expressed measured criticism of the Israeli prime minister’s handling of Israel’s historic pro-democracy protests.
Administration officials said Biden would also meet in New York on Tuesday with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres as well as five Central Asian leaders – from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. And on Wednesday, Biden will also meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the officials said.
“President Biden heads into this year’s United States General Assembly with confidence,” an official said. “We have strong allies and new partners; we have a vision for institutional reform at the United Nations, the World Bank and elsewhere; and we have initiatives to deliver infrastructure, health, climate and other global public goods.”