President Biden is addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, as he continues to call for global cooperation in support of Ukraine and as the Biden administration celebrates the return of five Americans who had been held in Iran.
Five U.S. citizens detained by Iran have touched down on U.S. soil after they were freed Monday in a complicated diplomatic deal that included the transfer of $6 billion in unfrozen Iranian oil assets and the release of five Iranians facing charges in the U.S.
Russia’s war in Ukraine will be a key focus of Mr. Biden’s remarks and of UNGA as a whole. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak at UNGA Tuesday in his first address to the assembly since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked assault on his country. Zelenskyy and Mr. Biden are also scheduled to meet at the White House on Thursday.
“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence,” Mr. Biden is expected to say. “But I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the UN Charter to appease an aggressor, can any member state feel confident that they are protected? If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?”
Zelenskyy has warned that world order is what’s at stake in the war in Ukraine.
“If Ukraine falls, what will happen in 10 years? Just think about it. If [the Russians] reach Poland, what’s next? A Third World War?” Zelenskyy said a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday.
How to watch President Biden address UNGA
- What: President Biden speaks at the U.N. General Assembly
- Date: Sept. 19, 2023
- Time: 10 a.m. ET
- Location: United Nations building in New York, New York
- Online stream: Live on CBS News streaming in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device
Mr. Biden is also expected to address the need for global cooperation and resources to tackle climate change and infrastructure projects.
“Record breaking heatwaves in the United States and China,” Mr.Biden is expected to say. “Wildfires ravaging North America and Southern Europe. A fifth year of drought in the Horn of Africa. Tragic flooding in Libya that has killed thousands of people. Taken together these snapshots tell an urgent story of what awaits us if we fail to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and begin to climate-proof our world. From day one of my Administration the United States has treated this crisis as the existential threat that it is, not only to us, but to all of humanity.”
Four of the five veto-wielding, permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — France, Britain, Russia and China — are absent at UNGA.
Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.
Create your free account or log in
for more features.
