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Russian Foreign Minister hits out at West’s ‘empire of lies’

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Russia’s Foreign Minister told the UN General Assembly on Saturday that a new world order is being born through a struggle between a neocolonial minority and a “global majority” seeking to end decades of Western domination.

Sergey Lavrov said power was slipping through the hands of the old order, dominated by Washington, which has long rejected the principle of equality.

Americans and Europeans “make all sorts of promises…and then just don’t fulfil them”, he told delegates.

Quoting President Vladimir Putin, he said the West was “truly an empire of lies” which even during the battle against Nazism in World War Two, had plotted an offensive against their Soviet allies.

Soviet and then Russian leaders “were given concrete political assurances regarding the non-expansion of the NATO military alliance to the east”, which turned out to be pure deception.

Washington and Brussels have ceaselessly sought to expand their interests and alliances to subordinate the Global South and East, rejecting Russia’s desire for mutual security guarantees, he stated.

West’s ‘hybrid war against our country’

Turning to Ukraine, he said the West had “continued its ongoing militarisation of the Russophobic Kyiv regime”, brought to power via a “bloody coup” in 2014 and took that opportunity to “wage a hybrid war against our country.”

The aim since then, has been the strategic defeat of Russia he argued, with the US-led offensive now stretching into outer space and disinformation online.

Mr. Lavrov said it was “obvious” that its creation of subordinate alliances was “targeted against Russia and China” in a bid to sabotage more “inclusive” regional forums.

He said even in terms of culture, the anti-colonial “global majority” has had enough of the Western “yoke” and attacks on their religions, traditional values and sovereignty.

He saw Russia and China as defenders of a new multipolar architecture – the ascendent world order – and now the West is doing all it can to block it.

‘Coercive measures’

The Russian Foreign Minister decried US-led use of unilateral sanctions and “coercive measures”, defending Cuba, Venezuela, Syria and others, while Washington continues its effort to “Ukrainize” the international agenda.

He said it was time for full reform of “global governance architecture” including UN-led international financial mechanisms and the United Nations’ key bodies – together with what he said was a Secretariat biased in favour of capitals in NATO and the European Union.

Mr. Lavrov spoke up for Security Council expansion to include Asia, Africa and Latin America.

He said reform needed to be based on a new, balanced consensus, giving the example of the BRICS bloc of economic powers – set to expand beyond Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa.

Avoid ‘large scale war’

Mr. Lavrov closed his case with an appeal for compromise, saying “humanity is at a crossroads…It is in our shared interest to prevent a downward spiral into large scale war.”

He invoked the Secretary-General’s call for world leaders to meet and negotiate in the spirit of compromise at this year’s UN General Assembly, “when designing our common future for our common good.”

“This is an excellent response to those who divide our world up into democracies and autocracies and dictate their neocolonial rules to others”, he concluded.

Full statement in Russian available here

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Russian foreign minister lambastes the West but barely mentions Ukraine in UN speech

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023 at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, center, is escorted to the podium by protocol to address the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023 at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

The Ukrainian delegation is absent as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023 at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is seen on a giant screen as he addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023 at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia’s top diplomat denounced the United States and the West on Saturday as self-interested defenders of a fading international power structure, but he didn’t discuss his country’s war in Ukraine in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

“The U.S. and its subordinate Western collective are continuing to fuel conflicts which artificially divide humanity into hostile blocks and hamper the achievement of overall aims. They’re doing everything they can to prevent the formation of a genuine multipolar world order,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

“They are trying to force the world to play according to their own self-centered rules,” he said.

As for the 19-month war in Ukraine, he recapped some historical complaints going back to the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, and alluded to the billions of dollars that the U.S and Western allies have spent in supporting Ukraine. But he didn’t delve into the current fighting.

For a second year in a row, the General Assembly is taking place with no end to the war in sight. A three-month-long Ukrainian counteroffensive has gone slower than Kyiv hoped, making modest advances but no major breakthroughs.

Ukraine’s seats in the assembly hall were empty for at least part of Lavrov’s speech. An American diplomat wrote on a notepad in her country’s section of the audience during Lavrov’s speech.

The speech accused the U.S. of, among other things, “whipping up hysteria on the Korean Peninsula.” North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare foray out of his country last week by train to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin , an unsettling development for South Korea and allies including the United States.

Later, in a press conference, Lavrov said the U.S. was “effectively engaged in hostilities with us, using the Ukrainians as fodder.”

“You can call this whatever you want to call this, but they are directly at war with us,” he said. “We call this a hybrid war. But that doesn’t change the reality.”

Under assembly procedures that give the microphone to presidents ahead of cabinet-level officials, Lavrov spoke four days after Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Joe Biden.

Zelenskyy accused Russia of “weaponizing” food, energy and even children against Ukraine and “the international rules-based order” at large.

Biden sounded a similar note in pressing world leaders to keep up support for Ukraine : “If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?” On North Korea, he reiterated criticism of the North’s violations of Security Council resolutions regarding its nuclear and ballistic missile programs but said Washington is “committed to diplomacy that would bring about the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

Since invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has offered a number of explanations for what it calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Among them: claims that Kyiv was oppressing Russian speakers in Ukraine’s east and so Moscow had to help them, that Ukraine’s growing ties with the West in recent years pose a risk to Russia, and that it’s also threatened by NATO’s eastward expansion over the decades.

Lavrov hammered on those themes in his General Assembly speech last year , and he alluded again Saturday to what Russia perceives as NATO’s improper encroachment.

But his address looked at it through a wide-angle lens, surveying a landscape, as Russia sees it, of Western countries’ efforts to cling to outsized influence in global affairs. He portrayed the effort as doomed.

The rest of the planet is sick of it, Lavrov argued: “They don’t want to live under anybody’s yoke anymore.” That shows, he said, in the growth of such groups as BRICS — the developing-economies coalition that currently includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and recently invited Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to join next year.

“Our future is being shaped by a struggle, a struggle between the global majority in favor of a fairer distribution of global benefits and civilized diversity and between the few who wield neocolonial methods of subjugation in order to maintain their domination which is slipping through their hands,” Lavrov said, adding that the United Nations needs to change to have “a fair balance of interests.”

Both Lavrov and Zelenskyy also addressed the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday but didn’t actually face off . Zelenskyy left the room before Lavrov came in.

Lavrov also sat out Zelenskyy’s speech at the General Assembly, but rejected the Ukrainian president’s 10-point peace plan as “not feasible” and “not realistic” during the press conference following his speech.

“I had my own affairs to attend to. We know what he’s going to say. Why waste time?” the Russian said to explain his absence.

Nonetheless, he said he’d watched video of the Ukrainian president’s remarks there and in the Security Council and thought “he seemed rather grim.”

Associated Press journalists Mary Altaffer at the United Nations and Joanna Kozlowska in London contributed.

Lavrov walks out of U.N. Security Council meeting as the West confronts Russia over atrocities in Ukraine

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on every United Nations General Assembly member to “send a clear message” to Russia that it must stop its nuclear threats in the war in Ukraine .

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that his nuclear-armed country will “certainly use all means available to us” if its territory is threatened and to defend the country and its people.

Blinken used a council session Thursday to criticize Russia’s invasion and press other countries to join in Washington’s forceful condemnations of the conflict. He listed atrocities he said were committed by Russia — and suggested that more could come.

“Every council member should send a clear message that these reckless nuclear threats must stop immediately,” he said.

The Security Council has held dozens of contentious meetings on Ukraine since the war began in February, but Thursday’s meeting had special stature: It was held during the annual U.N. General Assembly gathering of world leaders and brought multiple foreign ministers to the table.

Called by France , the current council president, the meeting was focused on addressing accountability for alleged abuses and atrocities, and the U.S. and other Western members repeatedly accused Russia of committing them.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov , meanwhile, repeated his country’s frequent claims that Kyiv has long oppressed Russian speakers in Ukraine’s east — one of various explanations Moscow has offered for the invasion.

Ukraine’s Western allies, he said, “have been covering up the crimes of the Kyiv regime.”

Lavrov was not in the room when Blinken and some other U.S. allies spoke, only appearing just before his own speech.

Despite Blinken’s forceful words, no one expects the council to act against Russia since Moscow has veto power as a permanent member.

Instead, a U.S. official said Blinken’s aim was to convince other members to impress upon Moscow the global damage that the war is causing and demand that it end. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview Blinken’s speech before he spoke.

The meeting came a day after President Joe Biden assailed Putin for what he called egregious violations of the U.N. Charter and international law. At the Security Council, Blinken made the case that Russia should face further censure and isolation for its invasion.

In listing several allegations of war crimes and other atrocities, he called on countries that have yet to speak out forcefully against them as an affront to international order.

He noted that the war had not only caused massive destruction to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, but also distracted the council from other global crises, including potential famines, climate change and widespread poverty.

As the meeting began, there were already signs of a charged atmosphere around the council’s famous horseshoe-shaped table.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wryly told reporters beforehand that he planned to keep a “safe social distance” from Lavrov.

And as council staffers prepared to put a placard marking Ukraine’s seat next to Russia’s, Kuleba apparently raised objections — the placard was moved to another spot. Lavrov was not in the room at that point.

The International Criminal Court opened an investigation in March into possible crimes amid the war and sent teams to gather evidence. Prosecutor Karim Khan told the council Thursday that he’s dispatching more staffers next week to look into allegations emerging from eastern Ukraine.

Khan hasn’t yet announced any charges linked to the conflict, but he reiterated to the council that he believes there are reasonable grounds to think that crimes have been committed.

“The picture that I’ve seen so far is troubling indeed,” he said.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has pushed for the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute alleged war crimes.

On Wednesday, Ukraine’s president laid out a detailed case against Russia’s invasion at the U.N. and demanded punishment from world leaders in a speech delivered just hours after Moscow made an extraordinary announcement that it would mobilize some reservists for the war effort.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed in a video address to world leaders that his forces would not stop until they had reclaimed all of Ukraine.

“We can return the Ukrainian flag to our entire territory. We can do it with the force of arms,” he said. “But we need time.”

Dozens of diplomats walk out on Russian foreign minister’s speech

More than 100 diplomats walk out on Russian foreign minister’s speech at UN Human Rights Council to protest against Ukraine invasion.

More than 100 diplomats from some 40 countries have walked out of a speech by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the United Nations in Geneva as a protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Tuesday’s boycott by envoys from the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and others left only a few diplomats in the room.

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Those remaining at the Human Rights Council meeting included Russia’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, who is a former deputy to Lavrov.

Envoys from Syria, China, and Venezuela also stayed.

Ukrainian Ambassador Yevheniia Filipenko, who led the walkout, thanked those who took part in the stunt.

“Thank you very much for this wonderful show of support to Ukrainians who are fighting for their independence,” she told the crowd gathered around a large Ukrainian flag outside the chamber.

U.S. Ambassadors @USAmbGVA Crocker and @USAmbHRC Taylor were proud to join @UKRinUNOG and colleagues from around the globe in today’s dramatic walkout from the Human Rights Council to protest Lavrov’s appalling attempt to justify Russia’s brutal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/Lovr0TtqiH — U.S. Mission Geneva (@usmissiongeneva) March 1, 2022

Lavrov was addressing the Human Rights Council remotely, after cancelling his visit because of the closure of European airspace to Russian aircraft.

In his speech, the Russian foreign minister justified his country’s attack on Ukraine by accusing the Ukrainian side of human rights violations against its Russian minority.

He also accused the EU of engaging in a “Russophobic frenzy” by supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine during Moscow’s military campaign that began last Thursday.

Moscow describes the invasion as a “special military operation” aimed at dislodging “neo-Nazis” ruling Ukraine.

Diplomats who walked out on Lavrov’s speech said the Human Rights Council “must not be misused as a platform for disinformation”.

“Foreign Minister Lavrov’s grotesque claims must be exposed for what they are: a cynical distortion of the facts,” said German ambassador Katharina Stasch.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly called Lavrov’s version “false” and “so that’s why we wanted to show a very strong stance together”.

French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont said “any invasion constitutes a violation of human rights” and “it is important that the Human Rights Council shows with this walkout that it is united with Ukraine and with the people of Ukraine”.

The walkout came less than an hour after diplomats all but emptied a nearby room at the UN’s European headquarters in Geneva when Lavrov’s video speech aired to the Conference on Disarmament, a body created in 1979 to try to stem the Cold War arms race.

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Russian Federation - Minister for Foreign Affairs…

24 September 2022

Russian Federation - Minister for Foreign Affairs Addresses General Debate, 77th Session

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Lavrov defends Russia at U.N. showdown rife with anger over Ukraine war

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Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Michelle Nichols, Daphne Psaledakis, John Irish and Brendan McDermid; Editing by Mary Milliken, Jonathan Oatis and Daniel Wallis

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Daphne Psaledakis is a foreign policy correspondent based in Washington, D.C., where she covers U.S. sanctions, Africa and the State Department. She has covered the rollout of U.S. sanctions on Russia after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Washington’s efforts to enforce its sanctions and the U.S. response to the conflict in Ethiopia, among other issues. She previously covered European Union politics and energy and climate policy for Reuters in Brussels as part of an Overseas Press Club Foundation fellowship in 2019. Daphne holds a Bachelor of Journalism in Print and Digital News and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies.

Humeyra Pamuk is a senior foreign policy correspondent based in Washington DC. She covers the U.S. State Department, regularly traveling with U.S. Secretary of State. During her 20 years with Reuters, she has had postings in London, Dubai, Cairo and Turkey, covering everything from the Arab Spring and Syria's civil war to numerous Turkish elections and the Kurdish insurgency in the southeast. In 2017, she won the Knight-Bagehot fellowship program at Columbia University’s School of Journalism. She holds a BA in International Relations and an MA on European Union studies.

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U.N. General Assembly Zelensky Criticizes the U.N. and Presents Peace Plan to End the War

Speaking before the Security Council, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said Russia should lose its veto power. The Russian foreign minister later suggested that the U.S. could “command” Kyiv to negotiate with Moscow.

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Zelensky Criticizes U.N. at Security Council Meeting

President volodymyr zelensky of ukraine criticized the united nations for failing in its role to prevent conflicts..

Translator: We should recognize that the U.N. finds itself in a deadlock on the matters of aggression. Humankind no longer pins its hopes on the U.N. when it comes to the defense of the sovereign borders of nations. World leaders are seeking new platforms and alliances that could reduce the disastrous scope of problems, the problems that are met here, within these walls, with rhetoric rather than real solutions, with aspirations to compromise with killers rather than to protect lives. Life should be defended uncompromisingly to ensure successful protection. But I would not be here today if Ukraine had no proposals precisely regarding some specific solutions.

Farnaz Fassihi and Max Bearak

Here’s the latest from the U.N. General Assembly.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, speaking before the U.N. Security Council session on Wednesday, criticized the U.N. for failing to prevent or resolve conflicts like the one destroying his country and called for Moscow to be stripped of its veto power in the Council.

“It is impossible to stop the war because all actions are vetoed by the aggressor,” he said, adding his voice to the rising calls at the U.N. General Assembly Meeting in New York to reform how the body works.

The Security Council’s debate on Ukraine was one of two high-profile General Assembly side events capturing the tension surrounding major global crises. The other was a special summit on climate change hosted by the secretary general, António Guterres.

As Mr. Zelensky spoke, Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, mostly looked at his phone, and Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, was not present for the speech, avoiding a high-profile confrontation many diplomats had expected.

When Mr. Lavrov spoke later, he sought to justify his country’s invasion by restating claims that the West had staged a “coup” in Ukraine in 2014 to install a pro-Western president. He also defended Russia’s veto power at the U.N. as “legitimate.” Mr. Zelensky had left the chamber by then.

Here’s what happened on Wednesday:

At the climate summit, the only leaders allowed to speak were from countries that Mr. Guterres’s office had deemed to have demonstrated seriousness in reducing their carbon dioxide emissions. The climate event was part of a nod by Mr. Guterres to growing frustration in the developing world that the war in Ukraine is distracting global powers from the cascading crises around food supply, debt and extreme weather.

President Biden met Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu , on Wednesday morning at a hotel near the United Nations, offering him a mix of encouragement and criticism that both soothed and aggravated monthslong tensions between the two men.

World leaders continued to address the General Assembly for a second day, including the leaders of the Baltic countries Estonia and Latvia, who denounced Russia for destabilizing the region, flouting international law on sovereignty and turning food exports into a weapon. Latvia’s president, Edgars Rinkevics, called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “a reminder of the struggle of a colonial empire to keep its territories.” “Ukraine is not Russia,” he said. “Never was, never will.”

At the Security Council meeting, a series of leaders also strongly criticized Russia for waging a naked war of aggression after Mr. Zelensky spoke, including the American secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken. The president of Poland, Andrzej Duda, implored the members of the U.N. to take a firm position against Russian aggression. “It concerns us all,” he said. “If we don’t act in solidarity to defend the fundamentals of international law, tomorrow would be too late,” he said.

Revamping the Security Council emerged as a major talking point for many leaders who addressed it on Wednesday. Several said the Council, created in the aftermath of World War II, did not represent the economic and political powers that have since emerged, among them India and Brazil. Neither did the Council have permanent members from Africa, South America or the Middle East. “We need a Security Council that is more fair, more representative and more inclusive,” said Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani.

President Biden and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil met on Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly for a conversation that appeared to warm relations between the two leaders after months of frosty rhetoric.

On Thursday, President Biden was expected to meet with President Zelensky to get a “battleground perspective” on the war, a White House spokesman, John F. Kirby, told reporters on Wednesday. He said Mr. Zelensky, who will also visit Capitol Hill and the Pentagon, will be in Washington at a “critical” time, as the country’s counteroffensive “grinds forward” toward harsh winter months.

Biden and Lula meet in New York to reset a frosty relationship.

In remarks to reporters, the two presidents hailed a new partnership to support labor in both countries and said they planned to work together on the climate crisis.

Mr. Lula had in recent months criticized the U.S. stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its tough line on Venezuela and Cuba. On Wednesday, Mr. Lula called the meeting “the rebirth of a new era in the relationship between the U.S. and Brazil — a relationship of equals.”

Mr. Biden said, “The two largest democracies in the Western Hemisphere are standing up for human rights around the world and in the hemisphere.”

In the 70-minute meeting, Mr. Biden and Mr. Lula discussed labor issues, a climate working group between the two countries and relations with Venezuela, Cuba and Ukraine, according to a senior U.S. official in the room and a Brazilian official briefed on the discussions. The two officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting.

On Ukraine, Mr. Lula said in the meeting that he planned to ask President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, whom he was meeting next, what he was willing to give up in the war with Russia to reach peace, according to the U.S. official present. Mr. Biden responded that Ukraine should not give up anything, the official said.

Mr. Biden asked Mr. Lula to push Venezuela to hold free elections, and Mr. Lula asked Mr. Biden to remove the U.S. designation of Cuba as a terrorist country, the official said.

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Farnaz Fassihi

Revamping the Security Council emerged as a major talking point for many leaders who addressed it today. Several said the Council, which was created in the aftermath of World War II, does not represent the economic and political powers that have since emerged, among them India and Brazil. Neither does the Council have permanent members from Africa, South America or the Middle East. “We need a Security Council that is more fair, more representative and more inclusive,” said Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani.

The president of the European Council Charles Michel told the Security Council that Ukraine was a “crime scene.” He joined a list of leaders criticizing the Council for its inability to take action against Russia, imploring members to ask themselves what they had done to punish Russia and stop the atrocities in Ukraine. “Let’s join forces to convince Russia to respect the terms of the U.N. charter,” he said.

The president of Poland, Andrzej Duda, speaking to the Security Council, implored the members of the U.N. to take a firm position against Russian aggression. “It concerns us all,” he said. “If we don’t act in solidarity to defend the fundamentals of international law, tomorrow would be too late.”

Duda, whose country is among the three European Union members whose ban on Ukrainian grain imports has caused a rift between Kyiv and some of its staunch allies, did not mention the grain dispute in his remarks. The president of one of the other countries, Hungary, also avoided the issue in her speech to the Council.

Erica L. Green

President Biden is looking to get a “battleground perspective” from President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine when they meet Thursday, White House spokesman John F. Kirby told reporters Wednesday. He said Zelensky, who will also visit Capitol Hill and the Pentagon, will be in Washington at a “critical” time, as the country’s counteroffensive “grinds forward” toward harsh winter months.

Kirby said that Biden would continue talks with Zelensky about “his needs and about how the United States will continue to meet those needs.” No decision has been made on whether the U.S. would provide long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems — known as ATACMS — but that they were not off the table, he said.

A dispute over Ukrainian grain exports that broke out last week has been a rare example of division between Kyiv and some of its European allies. But Katalin Novak, the president of Hungary, one of three European Union nations that have banned grain imports from Ukraine, did not mention the issue in her remarks to the Security Council. She pledged to support Ukraine as Hungary has “ever since the war has started.”

Neil MacFarquhar

Many leaders have railed against Russia's aggression against Ukraine, but Alar Karis, the president of Estonia, sought to inject a human element. Addressing the General Assembly, he referred to a woman named Anna, who he said fled from Russian attacks on civilians in Kyiv to Estonia, where she enjoys the sunsets and the quiet. He also joined those calling for reform of the Security Council.

At a summit meant to highlight climate ambition, the U.S. and China ended up on the B List.

The United Nations’ secretary general, António Guterres, convened a special summit on Wednesday in New York designed to highlight the efforts of the most ambitious global leaders on climate policy — and to implicitly shame those who are dragging their feet.

Mr. Guterres, who has made climate action a centerpiece of his agenda, had pledged that only high-level leaders whom he sees as taking climate action seriously would be allowed to speak at the event.

That did not include the leaders of the world’s two biggest polluters, China and the United States.

“Climate action is dwarfed by the scale of the challenge,” Mr. Guterres said in his opening remarks at the summit. “We must make up time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels.”

Of the world’s four biggest emitters, only the European Union was invited to speak at the summit. Top leaders from China and India, which are also the world’s most populous countries, did not attend the United Nations meetings this week at all, let alone the climate meeting, furthering a sense that the world body is facing a crisis of confidence under the weight of cascading global emergencies.

Farnaz Fassihi and Michael Crowley

Russia’s foreign minister again lays blame on the West for the Ukraine war.

The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, used his remarks to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to renew the Kremlin’s attacks on the United States and its Western allies, saying they had staged a “coup” in Ukraine that eventually led to Russia’s invasion last year.

Mr. Lavrov’s claims — shortly after President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine opened the session with his own speech condemning Russian aggression — stressed familiar Kremlin talking points, including that Kyiv was a U.S. puppet.

A series of speakers after Mr. Zelensky, including the American secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, strongly criticized Russia for the invasion, its attacks on Ukrainian civilians, and its decision to pull out of a deal allowing Ukraine to ship grain through the Black Sea. But Mr. Lavrov heard little of that criticism, arriving in the chamber just before it was his turn to speak.

He reiterated claims Russia has used to justify its invasion, saying that the United States had fomented a “brutal” anti-Russian coup in 2014, a version of history that ignores myriad other factors that led to the Maidan uprising that year in Ukraine.

Mr. Lavrov asserted that any anti-Russian government in Kyiv is an American puppet and suggested that the United States could “command” Mr. Zelensky to negotiate with Russia to end the fighting.

Mr. Lavrov also accused the United States of using the United Nations to level accusations at countries “who for one reason or another are inconvenient to Washington.”

He also complained that France and Germany had neglected the Minsk accords, which were intended to bring peace to Ukraine in the years before the invasion, and denounced American military interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and elsewhere.

Mr. Zelensky had left the Security Council chamber after his speech and was not present for Mr. Lavrov’s remarks. But Mr. Blinken appeared to give Mr. Lavrov his full attention, even as the remaining Ukrainian officials appeared to busy themselves with papers and phones.

The Security Council is taking a lunch break. The session on Ukraine is an open debate, which allows states that do not have seats on the council to make speeches. More than 60 countries have signed up to speak, representing a wide range of views on the war and how to end it.

President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea told the General Assembly that the use of artificial intelligence and fake news threatens freedom globally. The United Nations should establish an international organization to govern the use of A.I., he said.

China’s vice minister of foreign affairs, Ma Zhaoxu, told the Security Council that his country had played a constructive role in the Ukraine war “in its own way.” He said that prolonging or expanding the crisis in Ukraine was "in no one’s interest.” Asserting that the war cannot be won militarily, he called for peace talks and urged other countries to avoid “pouring oil over fire.”

Latvia’s president, Edgars Rinkevics, called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “a reminder of the struggle of a colonial empire to keep its territories.” “Ukraine is not Russia,” he said. “Never was, never will.” The representatives of the Baltic States, Finland and Poland have all delivered strong defenses of Ukraine against Russian aggression. All have been invaded by Russia in the past.

The Latvian president said his country would continue to support Ukraine for long as it takes and reminded the international community that “only Ukraine can decide when to start negotiations about peace.”

The phone has emerged as a tool for ignoring opponents at the General Assembly. The Russian ambassador scrolled through his while President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine spoke today, and the Ukrainian ambassador did the same while the Russian foreign minister spoke. The day before, Russia’s envoy focused on his phone screen during Zelensky's address. Iran’s foreign minister was caught on camera watching a soccer game on his phone during speeches Tuesday.

Ecuador’s president, Guillermo Lasso, spoke briefly about the Ukraine war, calling for the immediate resumption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. He warned that the conflict “not only inflicts pain and destruction to the people of Ukraine, but also worsens food insecurity and destabilizes the global economy, particularly in developing countries.”

Michael Crowley

Lavrov is on quite a tear, saying the U.S. is using the United Nations to level accusations at countries “who for one reason or another are inconvenient to Washington.” He has also complained that France and Germany neglected the Minsk accords, intended to bring peace to Ukraine prior to the invasion, and decried American military intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and elsewhere.

Richard Pérez-Peña

As Lavrov continues his remarks, he returns to the familiar Kremlin theme that any anti-Russian government in Kyiv is nothing more than an American puppet and suggests that the United States could “command” Zelensky to negotiate with Russia.

Blinken has been giving Lavrov his attention during the Russian foreign minister’s remarks, even as the remaining Ukrainian officials look away at papers and phones. It's perhaps a small gesture indicating respect for the Security Council’s debate process.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine left the Security Council chamber after his speech, so he is not present for the remarks from the Russian foreign minister.

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, is now addressing the Council. He is reiterating his claims that the West staged a “coup” in Ukraine to install a pro-Western president as justification of his country’s invasion.

This is a familiar accusation. The claim is that the United States, led by the State Department official Victoria Nuland, fomented an anti-Russian “brutal coup” in Kyiv in 2014, ignoring myriad other factors for the Maidan uprising in that country.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken told the Security Council that it was possible to both hold Russia accountable for the war in Ukraine and confront other issues, including the climate crisis and expanding economic opportunity. “We can and we must do both,” he said. “We are doing both.”

Farnaz Fassihi and Richard Pérez-Peña

Zelensky says U.N. is ineffective in stopping conflicts and calls for Russia to lose its Security Council veto.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said the United Nations had been hamstrung in its efforts to prevent conflicts like the war ravaging his country and called for Russia to be stripped of its power to veto the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council.

“It is impossible to stop the war because all actions are vetoed by the aggressor,” Mr. Zelensky said in his first in-person address to the nations of the Security Council. He added that the United Nations “finds itself in deadlock when it comes to resolving conflict” because of the Council’s structure.

Mr. Zelensky has addressed the Council several times by video from Ukraine since Russian troops invaded his country in February 2022, but this was the first time he personally attended a session on Ukraine.

As the Ukrainian president spoke — dressed in his trademark green shirt and cargo pants — the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, mostly looked at his phone. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, was set to address the Council later but was not in the room for Mr. Zelensky’s remarks.

“It has already been 574 days of pain, losses and struggle. Russia has killed at least tens of thousand of our people and turned millions into refugees by destroying their homes,” Mr. Zelensky said. “Most of the world recognizes the truth about this war, it is a criminal and unprovoked aggression by Russia against our nation aimed at seizing Ukraine’s territories and resources.”

After delivering a fiery address to the General Assembly on Tuesday, Mr. Zelensky’s speech to the council had a tempered tone. He expressed his gratitude to countries that had supported Ukraine by providing military assistance and imposing sanctions on Russia. He invited all countries to engage with Ukraine on its 10-point peace plan, which calls for a complete Russian withdrawal from Ukraine’s territory.

Mr. Nebenzya spent several minutes at the start of the session complaining about Mr. Zelensky being the first leader to address the Council given that Ukraine is not among its 15 members.

Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania, who presided over the session because Albania holds the rotating monthly presidency, replied that if Russia had not invaded Ukraine, there would be no reason for Mr. Zelensky to speak at the Council. “Stop the war and he will not speak first,” Mr. Rama said.

Mr. Nebenzya appeared unengaged throughout Mr. Zelensky’s speech. Russia’s veto power as one of the five permanent members has paralyzed the Council’s ability to take actions against his country or be a major actor in stopping the conflict.

Mr. Zelensky said that member countries had lost hope in the organization’s ability to defend their sovereignty and were instead looking for alternative channels.

The calls to reform the Security Council and the wider United Nations to better reflect the current world order have been echoed by many world leaders and U.N. secretary general António Guterres.

Mr. Zelensky called for permanent representation at the Council from Africa, Asia, Germany, the Muslim world, Pacific states and Latin America. He also said the General Assembly, with its 193 member states, must be empowered to take away Russia’s seat at the Council and veto power.

Currently there is no mechanism at the U.N. to remove Russia from the Council or take away its veto power because changes to the Council composition or rule must be approved by all five permanent members — the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia. The General Assembly has never voted to expel a member state.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain has confirmed that he would delay key targets in the country’s efforts to slow climate change, a critical policy shift.

Claire Fahy

In a park just one block north of U.N. Headquarters, a pro-democracy group protesting against Sierra Leone is advocating not just for democracy, but also for better protection of journalists. Many are carrying signs with the name "Maada Jessie Jengo," a reporter who was brutally beaten by soldiers in Sierra Leone in August 2022 while commuting to work.

Constant Méheut

Poland says it summoned the Ukrainian ambassador after Zelensky’s earlier comments at the U.N. General Assembly.

The Polish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that it had summoned the Ukrainian ambassador over comments made by President Volodymyr Zelensky at the United Nations General Assembly a day earlier suggesting that some European allies were playing into Russia’s hands by politicizing a dispute over the export of Ukrainian grain.

The summons was the latest development in an escalating disagreement between Ukraine and Poland, one of Kyiv’s strongest wartime backers, that could threaten Europe’s cohesion in its support for Ukraine.

Poland, Hungary and Slovakia — all European Union members and neighbors of Ukraine — said over the weekend that they would defy a decision by Brussels last week to lift a temporary ban on Ukrainian agricultural imports. The three countries have argued that the ban is necessary to protect their own farmers, who have complained that cheap grain from Ukraine — one of the world’s largest exporters — has undermined their own markets .

But commentators have noted that domestic politics may have played a role in the three countries’ decisions to continue banning sales of Ukrainian grain within their borders. Poland and Slovakia are holding general elections in coming weeks, and farmers in both countries form an important voting bloc.

Ukraine has expressed anger at the move, saying that continuing to ban its grain would hurt the country’s economy in a time of war. On Tuesday, Mr. Zelensky told the United Nations General Assembly that “it is alarming to see how some in Europe, some of our friends in Europe, play out solidarity in a political theater — making a thriller from the grain.”

“They may seem to play their own role,” Mr. Zelensky added, “but in fact they are helping set the stage to a Moscow actor.”

Mr. Zelensky’s comments seemed to add fuel to a dispute that has quickly escalated. On Monday, Ukraine filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization against the three countries, arguing that they could not impose bans unilaterally and that trade policy was the responsibility of the European Union’s authorities. Polish authorities struck a defiant tone, saying they would not budge.

The next day, a planned meeting between Mr. Zelensky and the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly was canceled. Mr. Duda blamed scheduling problems and did not rule out meeting at another time, Poland’s Rzeczpospolita newspaper reported . In remarks at the United Nations on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Duda did not mention the grain dispute.

Ukraine’s deputy economy trade minister, Taras Kachka, told the same newspaper on Tuesday that Ukraine would introduce a ban on imports of Polish onions, tomatoes, cabbage and apples in retaliation over the ban.

The Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, responded with a caution that his country could ban additional Ukrainian goods.“I‘d like to warn the Ukrainian authorities,” he told Polsat News television on Wednesday. “Because if they keep escalating the conflict like that, we will continue adding subsequent items to the list of products banned from imports into Poland.”

Mr. Morawiecki called on Ukraine to understand Poland’s interests, noting that his country had been a staunch supporter of Ukraine in the war against Russia. Poland has been a major supplier of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, hosting more than a million Ukrainian refugees and becoming the first NATO country to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine.

Patrick Kingsley and Michael D. Shear

Reporting from the United Nations headquarters in New York

Biden meets Netanyahu, after monthslong delay.

Biden and netanyahu meet on sidelines of u.n. general assembly, the meeting between president biden and prime minister benjamin netanyahu of israel at a new york city hotel, and not the white house, served as a reminder that their relationship remains thorny..

“Today we’re going to discuss some of the hard issues, and that is upholding democratic values that lie at the heart of our partnership, including checks and balances in our systems, and preserving the path to a negotiated two-state solution and ensuring that Iran never, never acquires a nuclear weapon. Because even where we have some differences, my commitment to Israel, as you know, is ironclad. I think without Israel, there’s not a Jew in the world that’s secure. I think Israel is essential.” “I want to reassert here before you, Mr. President, that one thing is certain and one thing will never change, and that is Israel’s commitment to democracy. We will continue to uphold the values that both our proud democracies cherish. And I think that working together we’ll realize the promise, roll back the dangers and bring a better future for our region and the world. We can make history.”

President Biden met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Wednesday morning at a hotel near the United Nations, offering him a mixture of encouragement and criticism that both soothed and aggravated monthslong tensions between the two men.

In granting Mr. Netanyahu an audience, Mr. Biden provided the embattled Israeli leader with a small public relations victory: It was their first in-person encounter since Mr. Netanyahu returned to office in December, and it ended Mr. Biden’s informal moratorium on contact with the prime minister.

Mr. Biden also hinted that Mr. Netanyahu might be invited to a more formal meeting at the White House within months — a major boost for the prime minister. “I hope we will see each other in Washington by the end of the year,” the president said.

Israeli prime ministers are typically welcomed at the Oval Office within months of their election, and Mr. Netanyahu has yet to receive an invitation.

But Mr. Biden’s other comments before the meeting showed that the relationship still remains thorny. The president voiced gentle criticism at Mr. Netanyahu’s efforts to reduce the power of Israel’s Supreme Court, a contentious move that has set off one of the worst domestic crises in Israeli history.

He also pushed Mr. Netanyahu to preserve the possibility of creating a Palestinian state, implicitly criticizing several recent moves by Mr. Netanyahu’s government to entrench Israeli control of the West Bank.

“Today we’re going to discuss some of the hard issues — upholding democratic values that lie at the heart of our partnership, including checks and balances in our systems, and preserving the path to a negotiated two-state solution,” Mr. Biden said at the start of the meeting.

But Mr. Biden also offered Mr. Netanyahu some encouragement, promising to block Iranian efforts to secure a nuclear weapon — and to continue to help normalize ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“Even when we have our differences, my commitment to Israel is ironclad,” Mr. Biden said.

The rest of the meeting was held in private. Mr. Biden was expected to voice concerns about Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank — as well as Mr. Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul, which has set off nine months of mass protests, dented his polling numbers at home and attracted unusual criticism abroad, in particular, from Mr. Biden himself.

The president has publicly challenged the prime minister’s efforts to overhaul Israel’s Supreme Court in the wake of corruption investigations against him.

Though the two leaders have worked together for decades and describe each other as friends, Mr. Biden has described Mr. Netanyahu’s governing coalition as “one of the most extremist” in Israeli history.

Analysts say a photograph with the president offers Mr. Netanyahu an opportunity to build a new narrative at home: to present himself as a statesman, remind Israelis of his extensive diplomatic experience and suggest that the recent friction with Mr. Biden have ebbed.

But the circumstances of the meeting also provided fodder for Mr. Netanyahu’s opponents, hundreds of whom protested outside the hotel, chanting against the prime minister and criticizing Mr. Biden for meeting with him.

Russian FM Lavrov slams West for 'grotesque' Russophobia in his UN speech

At the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of "grotesque" Russophobia. That same day, Vladimir Putin signed amendments toughening punishment for voluntary surrender and refusal to fight by up to 10 years in prison, just days after ordering a partial mobilisation. Read about the day’s events as they unfolded on our liveblog. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

Issued on: 24/09/2022 - 07:07 Modified: 24/09/2022 - 14:13

This live page is no longer being updated. For more of our coverage of the war in Ukraine, please click here .

10:55pm: China, India call for negotiated way out of Ukraine war

China and India on Saturday called at the United Nations for a negotiated end to the Ukraine war, stopping short of robust support for traditional ally Russia.

After a week of pressure at the United Nations General Assembly, Russia's foreign minister took the General Assembly rostrum to deliver a fiery rebuke to Western nations for what he termed a "grotesque" campaign against Russians.

But no major nation has rallied behind Russia, including China, which just days before the February invasion of Ukraine had vowed an "unbreakable" bond with President Vladimir Putin.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on both Russia and Ukraine to "keep the crisis from spilling over" and from affecting developing countries.

"China supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis. The pressing priority is to facilitate talks for peace," Wang said. "The fundamental solution is to address the legitimate security concerns of all parties and build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture."

9:55pm: Zelensky tells Russians Putin knowingly 'sending citizens to their death'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an appeal to Russians on Saturday evening, saying their president was knowingly "sending citizens to their death".

In Russian, Zelensky called on Moscow's forces to surrender, saying: "You will be treated in a civilised manner... no one will know the circumstances of your surrender".

It came just hours after Russia passed a law toughening punishments for voluntary surrender and desertion. 

8:05pm: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accuses the West of 'grotesque' Russophobia during UN speech 

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov bitterly criticised Western nations Saturday for their "grotesque" fear of Russia, telling the United Nations that such states were seeking to "destroy" his country.

"The official Russophobia in the West is unprecedented, now the scope is grotesque," Lavrov said in a fiery UN General Assembly speech. "They are not shying away from declaring the intent to inflict not only military defeat on our country but also to destroy and fracture Russia."

6:27pm: Over 700 detained in anti-mobilisation protests across Russia 

Russian authorities on Saturday detained more than 700 people at protests against partial mobilisation ordered this week by President Vladimir Putin, according to the independent monitoring group OVD-Info.

The police monitoring group counted at least 707 people detained in 32 cities across Russia, nearly half of them in Moscow, at rallies following the partial mobilisation designed to bolster Russia's operation in Ukraine. 

3:59pm: Russia toughens penalty for voluntary surrender, refusal to fight

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed amendments toughening punishment for voluntary surrender and refusal to fight by up to 10 years in prison, just days after ordering a partial mobilisation.

A separate law, also signed on Saturday, facilitates access to Russian citizenship for foreigners who enlist in the Russian army, following the mobilisation designed to increase the ranks of his army fighting a military operation in Ukraine.

3:10pm: Videos circulating showing ballot boxes being taken home by armed men in the Luhansk region

Serhiy Haidai, the Luhansk regional governor, has described the so-called referendums happening in the Kremlin-held regions of eastern and southern Ukraine as "an opinion poll conducted at gunpoint". FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg tells us more.  

1:34pm: Russia replaces top general in charge of logistics amid mobilisation

Russia announced on Saturday it replaced its highest ranking general in charge of logistics as its military operation in Ukraine runs into widespread logistical problems. "Army General Dmitry Bulgakov has been relieved of the post of deputy minister of defence" and will be replaced by Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

11:40am: Russian missile hits residential building in Zaporizhzhia causing casualties

A Russian missile hit a residential building in Zaporizhzhia causing casualties, the town's acting mayor told media. According to Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Oleksandr Starukh on Sept. 24 a Russian rocket was fired at a residential area of the city, causing a fire in a multi-story building.

⚡️Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia kills 1, injures 7. Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Oleksandr Starukh said that overnight on Sept. 24 a Russian rocket was fired at a residential area of the city, causing a fire in a multi-story building. Photo: Oleksandr Starukh/ Telegram pic.twitter.com/CKcMmR0Nrg — The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) September 24, 2022

8:35 am: Russian-occupied regions in Ukraine hold second day of 'referendum' on joining Russia

Kremlin-held regions of eastern and southern Ukraine entered the second day of voting to become part of Russia on Saturday. The voting on whether Russia should annex four regions of Ukraine started Friday, dramatically raising the stakes seven months after Moscow's troops invaded.

Ukrainian officials said people were banned from leaving some occupied areas until the four-day vote was over , armed groups were going to homes to force people to cast ballots, and employees were threatened with the sack if they did not participate. Reuters could not immediately verify reports of coercion.

The votes in the provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia were hastily organised after Ukraine recaptured large swathes of the northeast in a counter-offensive

6:28 am: US President Biden vows 'swift and severe' costs if Russia annexes Ukraine regions in 'sham' referendums

US President Joe Biden on Friday warned Russia there will be "swift and severe" costs if Moscow uses its "sham" referendums to annex more of Ukraine. "Russia's referenda are a sham – a false pretext to try to annex parts of Ukraine by force in flagrant violation of international law," Biden said in a statement. "We will work with our allies and partners to impose additional swift and severe economic costs on Russia."

"The United States will never recognise Ukrainian territory as anything other than part of Ukraine," he said.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP & Reuters)

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