With the return to fully face-to-face general debate, presidents and prime ministers will converge on New York, many of them direct from London, where diplomacy began on the sidelines of the Queen’s funeral. Russia is currently in retreat on the battlefield and in the battle for world hearts and minds over the fate of Ukraine. The general assembly voted 101-7 with 19 abstentions to allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to deliver a pre-recorded speech on video, granting him an exemption from the requirement that speakers appear in person. India, a longtime ally of Moscow that tends to abstain from votes on Ukraine, voted for Zelensky. The vote came on the same day that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly rebuked Vladimir Putin, telling him that “now is not the time for war,” when they appeared together at a regional Asia summit in Uzbekistan. Putin said he was aware of Indian “concerns”, repeating what he had said the day before about China. The weekly session of United Nations general assembly meetings and leaders’ speeches begins as mass graves are discovered after the Russian retreat from the Ukrainian city of Izium. War crimes are likely to take center stage in Wednesday’s speeches by Zelenskiy and Joe Biden, and the UN Security Council will convene a ministerial meeting on Thursday morning, chaired by French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, focusing on responsibility for war crimes in Ukraine. The Russians “should expect that it will not be business as usual when they arrive in New York tomorrow,” said US UN envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield. “They will be isolated. They will be condemned in the security council, as well as more broadly in the general assembly,” he told CNN. Despite widespread sympathy in the UN General Assembly for the situation in Ukraine in the face of Russian invasion, there has been irritation among developing countries that a focus on the conflict has sidelined discussion and action on parallel food and climate crises that threaten mass displacement and starvation in the global south. Ukraine has lobbied for more resolutions condemning Russia in the security council and general assembly, but Kiev’s Western supporters have warned of the danger that dwindling numbers backing such resolutions could become history. “There’s been an ebb and flow of interest and engagement from countries that aren’t directly affected by Ukraine, so we’ve had to work hard to make it clear that we’re talking about those issues that affect them in their own right.” said a European diplomat at the UN. On Tuesday, Biden will chair a summit on food security, and US officials have also signaled that Washington is ready to talk about reforming UN institutions, including the Security Council. Western member states will seek to use the food security summit to highlight links between the Russian invasion and global food shortages. “Connecting the two where appropriate is useful because it prevents Ukraine from being seen as a European problem that doesn’t really matter,” the European diplomat said. Russia and the West have been locked in a propaganda battle across Africa over blame for grain shortages caused by the disruption of exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov toured Africa, portraying Russia as a victim of a Western imperialist war while highlighting Russia’s role in supporting decolonization movements. In a parallel move to bolster its support in the general assembly, the US has abandoned its non-binding position on reforming UN institutions such as the security council to make them more representative. Speaking on council reform, US Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Michele Sison said on Friday: “We do not believe that the United States should defend an outdated status quo.” “While we are clear-eyed about the obstacles to Security Council reform, we will make a serious appeal to countries to forge consensus around credible, realistic proposals for the way forward,” Sison said. “To remain credible in the 21st century, the council must better reflect global realities and incorporate regional perspectives.” With competing plans to change the membership of the security council, all of which would be vetoed by Russia and China, the shift in the US position is unlikely to lead to concrete reforms. It is primarily aimed at further isolating Moscow and Beijing as guardians of the status quo.
