UNITED NATIONS, Sept 21 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday accused Russia of making “reckless” and “irresponsible” threats to use nuclear weapons and said Moscow had violated basic principles of membership to the United Nations by invading Ukraine.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Biden criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for starting a war without provoking some 40 UN members who were helping to fight Ukraine by providing funding and weapons.
Earlier on Wednesday, Putin ordered a Russian mobilization to fight in Ukraine and made a thinly veiled threat to use nuclear weapons, in what NATO called a “reckless” act of desperation in the face of imminent Russian defeat. Read more
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Biden echoed NATO’s statement.
“Once again, just today, President Putin has made open nuclear threats against Europe, without regard for the responsibilities of the non-proliferation regime,” Biden said.
“A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” he said.
Biden said that no one had threatened Russia, despite his claims to the contrary, and that only Russia had sought conflict, and used the UN environment to underline his view that Moscow had violated the body’s values.
“A permanent member of the United Nations Security Council invaded its neighbor, tried to wipe a sovereign state off the map. Russia has shamelessly violated the basic principles of the United Nations Charter,” Biden said.
“This war is about extinguishing Ukraine’s right to exist as a state, plain and simple, and Ukraine’s right to exist as a people. Wherever you are, wherever you live, whatever you believe, that should … let your blood run cold.”
Russia’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Biden’s remarks. While Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in New York for the UN meeting, a deputy Russian ambassador to the UN was in the chamber for Biden’s speech.
Later on Wednesday, a senior White House official told reporters that Putin’s announcement “indicates a very pressured environment in Russia,” but said it was too early to tell how serious the protests against the mobilization are in Russia Read more
Putin has been forced to “resort to something he clearly didn’t want to do,” the official said, “a reflection of the fact that his campaign in Ukraine is failing.”
U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 21, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/Pool
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COMPETING FOR INFLUENCE
The United States and its Western allies compete with Russia for diplomatic influence. The United States has acknowledged that some countries are concerned that the war in Ukraine has diverted global attention from other crises. Read more
Washington has also long struggled for dominance with Beijing.
“Let me be blunt about the competition between the United States and China. As we manage changing geopolitical trends, the United States will behave as a reasonable leader,” Biden said.
“We’re not looking for conflict. We’re not looking for a Cold War. We’re not asking any nation to choose between the United States or any other partner,” he said.
Biden also called on China to suspend bilateral cooperation with the United States on climate talks following the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on August 2-3 to Taiwan.
“The United States will work with all nations, including our competitors, to solve global problems like climate change. Climate diplomacy does the United States or any other nation a favor, and walking away hurts the entire world,” he said.
Biden announced $2.9 billion in additional US funding to combat global food insecurity, building on $6.9 billion already pledged this year.
The United States has stepped up its focus on food supplies since Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine worsened a global crisis already fueled by climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Russia and Ukraine are the main exporters of grain and fertilizer and shipments were disrupted by the war.
Biden rejected Russian complaints that Western sanctions hurt its exports, stressing that US sanctions explicitly allow Russia to export food and fertilizer and that “Russia’s war is making food insecurity worse.”
He also urged countries not to stockpile grain while so many people are suffering: “In every country in the world, no matter what else divides us, if parents can’t feed their children, nothing, nothing else matters.”
The United States has accused China of hoarding grain. China’s cereal stocks at the end of the 2021/22 season were estimated by the International Grains Council at 323.5 million tonnes, more than half of the global total of 602.9 million. They eclipse those of the United States, the main exporter of cereals in the world, which were estimated at 57.5 million tons.
Biden also pushed for the extension of an agreement, brokered in July by the United Nations and Turkey, that allowed Ukraine to resume exports of food and fertilizer from the Black Sea. Russia has cast doubt on whether the initial 120-day deal should continue.
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Reporting by Steve Holland and Michelle Nichols; additional reporting by Nandita Bose and Andrea Shalal; written by Jeff Mason; edited by Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool
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