Biden accuses Russia of blatantly violating UN principles and calls for expanding the Security Council

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, stated this Wednesday at the UN General Assembly that Russia violated the fundamental principles of United Nations Charter when invading Ukraine and criticized the use of the veto that Moscow has made in the Security Council regarding that conflict.

In that context, Biden requested the expansion of the Security Council “so that it can better respond to the needs of today’s world” and recalled that the permanent members of that body -including his country- must refrain from exercising their veto right “except in extraordinary situations”.

The US president participated in the second day of the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly debate, breaking the tradition of being the second speaker of the conclave on the opening day as the host country of the Organization.

According to the extension approach of the Security CouncilAfrica and Latin America and the Caribbean should have permanent seats and more non-permanent members should be included, among others for “the nations that we have supported for a long time”.

unnecessary war

During a speech in which he constantly appealed to the UN CharterBiden called the war in Ukraine “brutal and unnecessary” and argued that was decided by one manthe president of Russia Vladimir Putin.

“Let’s be clear: a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council invaded his neighbor, attempted to wipe a sovereign state off the map. (…) Russia has brazenly violated the basic principles of the UN Charter,” she said.

The president accused Russia of “irresponsible threats” to use nuclear weapons and the call for military reserves announced this morning in the Kremlin.

“A nuclear war cannot be won and you should never fight”, he warned and added that “no one threatened Russia and no one but Russia sought conflict”, highlighting in contrast the financial and military support that Ukraine has received “for its defense” from some 40 UN member states. He also reiterated the solidarity of the United States with Ukraine.

defend democracy

He emphasized that his country has always advocated a democratic vision of the world and that it will continue to work to “defend and strengthen” democracy. inside and outside its borders because “it continues to be the greatest instrument of humanity to address the challenges of our time”.

In this vein, he urged all countries to join the commitment to democracy and bear in mind that the UN Charter, which serves as the basis for a just and peaceful order, is under attack by those who they seek to distort it for their political benefit.

Additional funds against hunger

On the other hand, the American leader denounced the worsening of world food security -already precarious due to the COVID-19 pandemic- since the start of the war in Ukraine, which has pushed an additional 47 million people into a famine, and announced that his government will contribute an additional 2.9 billion dollars in funds to combat this scourge. These resources will be added to the 6.9 billion previously committed, he added.

“Meanwhile Russia is lying to the try to attribute the food crisis to sanctions imposed by many countries of the world for the aggression against Ukraine, so let me be clear: our sanctions explicitly allow Russia to export food and fertilizers without limitations. It is a Russian war, a food security war and only Russia can put an end to it”, he pointed out.

He went on to commend the Black Sea grains initiative, thanking the General secretary their work to achieve it and demanding that the agreement be extended to increase food exports.

The United States urged all countries not to ban food exports or withhold grain while so many people are suffering “because regardless of our divisions, if a parent can’t feed their children, nothing else matters,” he stressed.

“We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon”

Among other issues, Biden also addressed the Iranian nuclear program, pointing out that the United States will not allow for any reason that that country has atomic weapons, although he qualified this assertion by leaning towards avoiding conflict.

“We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon,” he stressed. “I still believe that diplomacy is the best way to achieve that result,” he added, indicating that he was open to returning to an agreement with the Central Asian country.

From Iran he also denounced human rights abuses and expressed the US support for citizens and women demonstrating to defend its fundamental guarantees.

Cold War

Regarding his commercial rivalry with China, Biden asserted that the United States does not intend to escalate it and that it will behave as a “reasonable leader.”

“We are not looking for a conflictWe are not looking for a cold war. We are not asking any nation to choose between the United States or any other country, but we will continue to promote a free, open, secure and prosperous world where there is something for everyone and with investments designed not to foster dependency but to ease burdens and help nations to be self-sufficient,” he said.

He also endorsed the commitment of the United States “to the ‘One China’ policy, that has helped prevent conflict for decades.”

Union around the UN Charter

To end his turn at the podium, the US president appealed to the founding values ​​of the UN and recognized that although the challenges of today’s world are great “our capacity is greater than them and our commitment must be even greater”.

“Let us stand together to re-declare the unequivocal determination that the nations of the world remain united, endorsing the values ​​of the UN Charter. (…) We are not silent witnesses of history, we are the authors of history. We can do it, we have to do it for ourselves, for our future, for humanity,” he concluded.