In first address to UN, Biden pledges ‘relentless diplomacy’ on global challenges
President decried military conflict, insisted U.S. is not seeking “a new Cold War” with China
By Josh Boak and Aamer Madhani | Associated Press
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 21: U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly on September 21, 2021 at U.N. headquarters in New York City. More than 100 heads of state or government are attending the session in person, although the size of delegations is smaller due to the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz-Pool/Getty Images)
UNITED NATIONS — President Joe Biden summoned the world’s nations to forcefully address the festering global issues of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and human rights abuses in his first address before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. He decried military conflict and insisted the U.S. is not seeking “a new Cold War” with China.
But while stressing to fellow world leaders the urgency of working together, Biden avoided addressing criticism from allies about the messy U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and a still-unresolved diplomatic tempest with France, the United States’ oldest ally.
Instead, Biden sought to use his address before the annual gathering of world leaders to make the case that the United States remains a reliable international partner following four years of President Donald Trump’s “America first” foreign policy.
“We’re opening a new era of relentless diplomacy, of using the power of our development aid to invest in new ways of lifting people up around the world,” Biden said.
