WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden slammed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as having “shamelessly violated” United Nations rules throughout a speech to the physique on Wednesday, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to threaten utilizing nuclear weapons towards Kyiv.
“Russia has shamelessly violated the core tenets of the U.N. constitution — no extra vital than the clear prohibition towards nations taking the territory of their neighbors by drive,” Biden advised the United Nations Basic Meeting. “If nations can pursue their imperial ambitions with out penalties, then we put in danger every little thing this very establishment stands for.”
In a roughly 30-minute speech, Biden mentioned that the warfare in Ukraine was about “extinguishing Ukraine’s proper to exist as a state… and Ukraine’s proper to exist as a individuals,” calling out Putin for making “irresponsible nuclear threats.”
“A nuclear warfare can by no means be gained and mustn’t ever be fought,” Biden mentioned in his speech.
Biden’s remarks to almost 200 world leaders gathered for the primary in-person U.N. Basic Meeting for the reason that pandemic hit got here simply hours after Putin delivered an tackle asserting the partial mobilization of navy reservists, a major escalation of his warfare in Ukraine. In the identical speech, Putin appeared to threaten nuclear retaliation if Kyiv continues its efforts to reclaim occupied territory.
The gathering comes at a deadly time on a lot of fronts. Russia’s warfare in Ukraine has upended international meals provides and threatens to tip Europe right into a recession this winter because the continent braces for a surge in vitality prices. The U.S. can be dealing with heightened tensions with China, which has proven indicators of accelerating aggression towards Taiwan. And local weather change continues to be probably the most daunting worldwide challenges.
In his speech, Biden introduced $2.9 billion in new U.S. authorities help to fight “acute meals insecurity” that he mentioned was attributable to the warfare and Ukraine and local weather change.
Biden comes into the assembly on firmer floor than final 12 months when his speech got here simply weeks after the lethal and chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan had international leaders questioning America’s management function on the planet.
Now, U.S. efforts to help Ukraine in its battle towards Russia have proven important indicators of progress in current days after Ukraine reclaimed territory within the northeastern Kharkiv province, in what many observers mentioned could possibly be a decisive shift because the warfare nears its seventh month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will tackle the group nearly Wednesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned final month he wouldn’t attend the assembly.
On China, Biden faces a fragile balancing act as tensions have escalated in current months. Throughout an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, he mentioned that U.S. forces would defend Taiwan if China invaded, a place criticized by Beijing.
It’s no less than the fourth time since final 12 months that Biden has made feedback that seem to change long-standing U.S. coverage on Taiwan, although White Home officers have mentioned there was no change within the coverage.
“We search to uphold peace and stability throughout the Taiwan Straits and stay dedicated to our one-China coverage, which has helped stop battle for 4 a long time,” Biden mentioned Wednesday.
The U.S. is certain by regulation to supply Taiwan with defensive weapons, nevertheless it has a coverage of “strategic ambiguity” in terms of precisely how it could reply to Chinese language aggression towards the island.
Chinese language President Xi Jinping didn’t attend the U.N. assembly.
Biden arrived in New York on Tuesday, a day after returning to Washington, D.C., from London the place he joined different world leaders in attending Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
Whereas in New York, he’ll meet Wednesday with U.N. Secretary-Basic António Guterres and new British Prime Minister Liz Truss. He may even converse on the International Fund convention on the battle towards AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and host a reception with different world leaders on the American Museum of Pure Historical past.
Elyse Perlmutter-Gumbiner and Carol E. Lee contributed.