New York (Union)
World leaders are focusing on the Ukraine crisis and the global food crisis, exacerbated by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, when they meet at the United Nations in New York this week, in a gathering that is unlikely to yield any progress toward ending the conflict.
“It would be naive to think that we are close to the possibility of reaching a peace agreement … the chances of a peace agreement are slim at present,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said before the high-level meeting of the 193-member UN General Assembly, which begins on Tuesday. .
Geopolitical divisions, exacerbated by the seven-month-old crisis, are likely to become more apparent as the United States and its Western allies compete with Russia for diplomatic influence.
“Other countries have expressed concern that with our focus on Ukraine we are not paying attention to what is happening in other crises around the world,” said US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield.
“This is not the truth,” she told reporters, adding that although Ukraine would feature prominently, “it will not be the only issue we are discussing.”
Guterres said geopolitical differences were “wider than they have been since at least the Cold War”. He warned that they “paralyze the world’s response to the exciting challenges we face,” referring to war, climate, poverty, hunger and inequality.
Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of grain and fertilizer, and the United Nations has blamed the crisis for exacerbating a food crisis already fueled by climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The United States is scheduled to host a food security summit with the European Union and the African Union, on the sidelines of the United Nations meeting, in addition to a ministerial meeting of the global action plan on the Corona virus, and a conference to replenish the resources of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.