UN General Assembly: Zelensky outlines 5-part Ukraine war peace plan in scathing speech against Russia
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Your support makes all the difference.Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky detailed Russian atrocities and described a sweeping peace plan to end the war in an address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.
“How can we allow the Russian army somewhere on Ukrainian soil, knowing that they are committing such mass murder everywhere?” Mr Zelensky asked. “We cannot. We must protect life. The world must protect life.”
He called on the international community to temporarily strip Russia of its UN powers, continue sanctions, and establish a special tribunal to oversee the peace process.
Joe Biden condemned Russia for making “overt nuclear threats against Europe” in a a speech of his own on Wednesday, as European foreign ministers convened an urgent meeting to discuss Russian mobilisation.
Mr Biden said Russia was carrying out a “brutal, needless war” against Ukraine as he announced support for countries impacted by food shortages that have resulted from the invasion.
His speech comes a day after Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation of 300,000 reservists as his forces struggle to regain their footing after a series of Ukrainian victories on the battlefield.
Russia's war in Ukraine dominated the first day of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) as world leaders gathered for the summit in person after three years in New York.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the 77th meeting was taking place at a time when the world is in "great peril" and "paralyzed" due to the war, climate chaos, hate, poverty and inequality. World leaders denounced Russia's invasion.
Welcome to The Independent’s live blog on the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
UN chief calls for windfall tax on fossil fuel firms
The United Nations secretary-general has called on all developed nations to tax the windfall profits of fossil fuel companies.
Antonio Guterres said the taxed funds should be redirected to countries suffering loss and damage caused by the climate crisis and to people struggling with rising food and energy prices.
“The fossil fuel industry is feasting on hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and windfall profits while household budgets shrink and our planet burns,” he told the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
“Polluters must pay.”His remarks come after Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, has made clear she is against a windfall tax.
Saphora Smith has more.
Tax fossil fuel companies windfall profits, UN chief says
Liz Truss has said she is against a windfall tax
World leaders condemn Russia’s war
World leaders meeting at the United Nations in New York denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Turkey offering to broker peace between the two countries.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said Putin will only give up his “imperial ambitions” that risk destroying Ukraine and Russia if he recognises he cannot win the war.
“This is why we will not accept any peace dictated by Russia and this is why Ukraine must be able to fend off Russia’s attack,” Mr Scholz said in his first address to the General Assembly.
Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida told the assembly the UN’s credibility was in danger because of the invasion by Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, and reforms of the UNSC were needed.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a conduct that tramples the philosophy and principles of the UN charter ... It should never be tolerated,” Mr Kishida said.
Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has tried to mediate with the Kremlin since Russia’s invasion on 24 February, called on Moscow to return captured territory in Ukraine.
“We think the war will never have a triumph, and a fair peace process will not have a loser,” he said.
“We are always underlining the significance of diplomacy in the settlement of the dispute.”
UN chief warns nations are ‘gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction’
United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres has warned that nations are “gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction.”
Speaking at the General Assembly’s annual high-level meeting, he said the international community is not “ready or willing” to tackle the challenges that threaten the future of humanity.
Mr Guterres warned world leaders that progress on such “big issues” is being “held hostage” by geopolitical tensions, leaving the world “paralysed.”
Antonio Guterres warns nations are ‘gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction’
United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres has warned that nations are “gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction.”Speaking at the General Assembly’s annual high-level meeting, he said the international community is not “ready or willing” to tackle the challenges that threaten the future of humanity.Mr Guterres warned world leaders that progress on such “big issues” is being “held hostage” by geopolitical tensions, leaving the world “paralysed.”This year marks the first UN General Assembly meeting to take place in person since the outbreak of Covid-19.Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
No nation can stay ‘indifferent’ on Ukraine war, says Macron
French president Emanuel Macron urged countries not to stay neutral about condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine as he called Moscow’s invasion a new form of imperialism.
Speaking to the UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders, Mr Macron insisted that any negotiation to end the more than six-month-old war can succeed only “if Ukraine’s sovereignty is respected, its territory liberated and its security protected.”
“Who here can defend the idea that the invasion of Ukraine justifies no sanction?” he asked.
“Who of you here can consider that the day when something similar with a more powerful neighbour happens to you, there’ll be silence from the region, from the world?”
Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro uses UN speech to campaign for presidential polls
Brazil’s far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who is seeking reelection next month, used his speech at the General Assembly to promote the merits of his administration.
His speech focused on the economy and the welfare program distributed to millions of Brazilians during the pandemic.
“In spite of the global crisis, Brazil reached the end of 2022 with an economy in full recovery,” Mr Bolsonaro said, stressing a falling unemployment rate and disinflation in Latin America’s largest nation.
He repeated his willingness to foster negotiations to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, while calling for a ceasefire.
However, Mr Bolsonaro renounced sanctions and economic isolation.
Ukraine's first lady and PM arrive in New York for UNGA
Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, has arrived in New York with prime minister Denys Shmyhal to attend the 77th UN General Assembly meeting.
South Korean president warns of threat to freedom and peace
South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol, in his address to the General Assembly, warned that freedom and peace in the global community were yet again in “jeopardy.”
Attempts to “alter the status quo by force, nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction and systemic violations of human rights” must be overcome, he said.
However, he made no mention of the threat on South Korea’s own doorstep — North Korea.
“When freedom of any citizen or nation in the global community is in peril,” he said, adding, “it is the community of nations that must stand together in solidarity to defend that freedom.”
Middle Eastern leaders raise Israel-Palestine conflict
The leaders of two Middle Eastern countries raised the Israel-Palestine conflict during their speeches at the General Assembly, urging the UN Security Council to “shoulder its responsibility”.
The emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said UNSC must compel Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories.
He said: “The Security Council must shoulder its responsibility and must compel Israel to end the occupation of Palestinian territories and to establish a Palestinian state along the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
King Abdullah II of Jordan stressed on Palestinians’ right to self-determination while asking the international community to show more support for Palestinian refugees.
“In the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, peace continues to be elusive,” said Mr Abdullah.
“It is the people themselves, not politics and politicians, who will have to come together and push their leaders to resolve this.”
The Jordanian King met Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid on the sidelines of the session to discuss the recent escalation between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the West Bank.
Russia’s Sergey Lavrov arrives in New York
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in New York today to take part in the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.
According to reports, his visit was delayed until the very last minute due to issues with the logistics of obtaining US visas.
He is expected to hold nearly 20 meetings on the sidelines of the session. Mr Lavrov will address the gathering on Saturday.
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