Biden delivers his last speech before the United Nations amid rising tensions in the region
US President Joe Biden delivered his final address to world leaders at the United Nations on Tuesday, saying Russia’s war in Ukraine had failed and that a diplomatic solution between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah was still possible.
Nearly four months before leaving office, Biden stepped up to address the United Nations General Assembly at a time when wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan are still raging and could continue after his term ends in January.
Biden sought to calm tensions as fears spread that the nearly year-long war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip could spread to Lebanon, where Israel targeted more than 1,000 Hezbollah targets on Monday.
“All-out war is in no one’s interest… Even if the situation escalates, a diplomatic solution is still possible,” Biden told the UN General Assembly.
Biden called on Israel and Hamas to finalize a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the release of hostages proposed by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.
On the situation in Ukraine, Biden said, “The good news is that Putin’s war has failed to achieve its primary goal… He set out to destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is still free”.
“We won’t relent or turn a blind eye… We’ll not stop supporting Ukraine until it achieves a just and lasting peace,” he added.
Russia currently controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including about 80% of the Donbas region.
Biden is scheduled to hear a proposal for a new Ukrainian peace plan from Ukrainian President Volodymyr when they meet in Washington on Thursday.
A US official said the plan was likely to be very similar to previous plans calling for sending more weapons and support to the Ukrainian war effort.
The US President devoted a long time in his speech to talking about confronting China and Iran.
Biden said that making progress on the Middle East peace issue would put the world in a stronger position to deal with the continuing threat posed by Iran.
“Together, we must starve Iran’s terrorist proxies of oxygen… and ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon,” he added.
He said the United States seeks to manage competition with China responsibly so that it doesn’t turn into conflict.
Biden also had strong words for both sides of the conflict in Sudan, saying, “This war must end now”.
The situations in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran are expected to remain challenges for the next president, whether that president is Democratic nominee Kamala Harris or her Republican challenger Donald Trump.
Harris has a foreign policy that is very similar to Biden’s, but she has used a harsher tone regarding the tens of thousands of Palestinian victims and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by Israeli attacks.
Trump is a strong supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose relations with Biden have been strained.
Biden expressed support for Israel in its efforts to eliminate Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip, but he failed to reach an agreement to cease fire in Gaza and release the hostages.
