Zelensky Arrives in New York to Attend UN General Assembly

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in New York to attend the UN General Assembly. It will be the first time he will personally make a speech. In New York, within the framework of the 78th UN General Assembly’s session, a high-level week begins, with a set of events and talks involving presidents, heads of government and foreign ministers of dozens of states. This year, the main discussions will revolve around the war in Ukraine and the development of the Global South. The day before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the United States. Straight from the airport he went to the hospital where Ukrainian military personnel are undergoing treatment and rehabilitation. The Ukrainian leader will make his first personal speech at the General Assembly. Later he will meet with US President Joe Biden, other world leaders, congressional representatives and American businessmen. As Politico wrote, Zelensky will pursue two goals in New York: to gain support for his “peace formula” and to find a solution to the food security crisis. Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to speak at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine. This has already been criticized by Moscow: Russia’s envoy to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said that the Security Council meeting with Zelensky’s participation would be “just another show”. At the same time, US President Joe Biden will be the only one of the leaders of the UN Security Council’s permanent members present at the talks. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the General Assembly as well as the recent G20 Summit. French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing for a visit to Paris by Britain’s King Charles III, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, after the publication of his party’s low rating, probably decided to concentrate on domestic problems. The Kingdom’s prime minister misses a high-level week for the first time in a decade, before Sunak, only David Cameron did not come to New York in 2013. On the eve the UN appraised the progress in building relations between the United States and Iran: on Monday it became known that Washington and Tehran agreed on a 5-by-5 prisoner exchange.