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Biden warns at UN that no country will be safe if Ukraine loses war
United Nations, September 19 (EFE) – US President Joe Biden warned the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that no country can guarantee Ukraine’s independence if it loses the war due to Russian aggression. The president claimed continued military support for the Kiev government was needed to defend Ukraine’s territorial integrity and “prevent” future Russian incursions into other countries. “If we abandon the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, can any Member State feel safe? If we allow Ukraine to break apart, can any country’s independence be guaranteed? The answer is no,” he warned. To this end, Biden promised that the United States and its allies “will continue to stand with the brave people of Ukraine to defend their sovereignty, territorial integrity, and freedom,” and then received applause from the audience. The president, who did not directly mention Russian President Vladimir Putin this time, also noted that Russia was “responsible for this war” and that it was in Russia’s hands to end the conflict “immediately.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also participate in the UN General Assembly High-Level Week; in Putin’s absence, there will be Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, although Lavrov has not yet arrived in New York and it will be difficult for him to meet with Ukrainians. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has lowered expectations for any progress in resolving the war in Ukraine, a conflict in which many African and Latin American countries have chosen neutrality. Recognizing this, Biden spent much of his speech winking to countries in the Global South, expressing his commitment to combating the climate crisis and food insecurity, investing in infrastructure and regulating artificial intelligence. Regarding his main rival China, the US president has advocated for “responsible management” of relations between the two countries and stressed the need to cooperate with Beijing on common challenges such as climate change. In this sense, he recalled record heat waves in the United States and China, forest fires in North America and southern Europe, drought in the Horn of Africa and floods in Libya. “These phenomena warn us of what awaits us if we do not urgently reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and start protecting our world,” he said. The US leader assured that his country wanted “a safer , a more prosperous and fairer world” and stressed that “no country can meet today’s challenges alone.” To this end, he reiterated his intention to reform the United Nations Security Council, absorb new members, and end the blockade that exists due to the dispute between the United States, Russia, and China. He also asked the organization to quickly authorize a Kenyan-led multinational force to intervene to quell the violent crisis in Haiti, a move that the Haitian government has been demanding for months. “I call on the Security Council to authorize this mandate immediately. The people of Haiti cannot wait any longer,” he said. Reviewing the international situation, Biden also condemned North Korea’s missile launches, pledged to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and defended a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (c) EFE Agency