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US President Joe Biden has called on world leaders to oppose early peace talks that would lead to the breakup of Ukraine, arguing that standing firm against Russia’s goal of conquering much of the territory would deter future invasions of independent nations.
Biden made the call Tuesday during his annual speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Biden warned that Russia was betting that the world was growing “tired” of conflict and that it would let Moscow “brutalize Ukraine without consequence.”
While the United States supported a diplomatic resolution to the war, the “price of peace” for Russia was “the surrender of Ukraine, Ukrainian territory and Ukrainian children,” Biden said.
“I ask you this: if we abandon the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter to appease an aggressor, can a Member State have the certainty of being protected? If we allow Ukraine to divide, is the independence of a nation assured? » asked Biden. “The answer is no. We must resist this blatant aggression today to deter other potential aggressors tomorrow.”
The US president’s comments come as he prepares to welcome Zelensky to Washington for war talks later this week, with Ukraine’s counter-offensive to reclaim land from Russian occupying forces proceeding more slowly than expected these last months. The Biden administration is pressuring Congress to approve new aid to Kyiv amid increasingly tense budget negotiations on Capitol Hill.
This month, the United States backed a G20 statement at the New Delhi leaders’ summit that toned down some of its most aggressive condemnations of Russia’s war in Ukraine, while emphasizing the importance of maintaining territorial integrity.
During his UN speech, Biden said Washington seeks to “responsibly manage” its competition with China so that it does not “slip into conflict,” and reiterated the US administration’s support to “risk reduction” rather than “decoupling” from China.
“We will push back against aggression and intimidation, to defend the rules of the road, from freedom of navigation to overflight to a level economic playing field that has helped safeguard security and prosperity for decades,” Biden said. “But we are also ready to work with China on issues where progress depends on our joint efforts.”
Biden used the speech to try to rally more support for U.S. efforts launched at the G20 summit to shore up the coffers of the World Bank and IMF to boost financing for developing countries. He also said the heatwaves, wildfires, droughts and floods that have ravaged countries around the world in recent weeks tell “an urgent story of what lies ahead if we fail to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
The US president’s speech comes at an inflection point in US diplomacy, as it attempts to build alliances and partnerships, including in the developing world, to offer more acceptable economic and strategic alternatives to the growing influence of China in many countries.
This year, Biden has intensified U.S. relations with India, strengthened ties with Saudi Arabia and entered into a new partnership with Vietnam, among other initiatives. On the economic and scientific front, the United States this week launched an Atlantic cooperation initiative including traditional allies in the North Atlantic region, such as the United Kingdom, Portugal and Canada, as well as countries from Africa and Latin America, notably Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Brazil. and Argentina.
In his speech, Biden also said the United States wants to “strengthen” the rules surrounding the use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
“We must ensure they are used as tools of opportunity and not weapons of oppression. »
