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Threats, talks, a succession race: UN General Assembly’s high-level week and India's goals
What Trump said on Iran, where Ukraine talks stand, who could succeed Guterres, and New Delhi’s agenda.
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World leaders gathered in New York on Monday as the high-level week of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly opened. The war in West Asia and the Russia-Ukraine conflict dominated the talks, and the contest to choose the next UN secretary-general was under way. External affairs minister S Jaishankar is leading India’s delegation.
Trump’s speech & talks
The opening day of the United Nations General Assembly saw the US-Israeli war against Iran draw much of the attention.
Addressing the Assembly on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump defended his decision to go to war with Iran, called on Tehran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz –the channel between Iran and Oman through which Gulf oil is shipped to the rest of the world – and to return to negotiations.
But it came with rhetoric. “I have a big decision to make,” Trump said. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world. Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”
Most of Iran’s delegation walked out of the chamber during the speech.
But, just hours later, Trump said US officials had held “very productive” talks with Iranian envoys on the sidelines of the Assembly, and that another round was being planned. Trump’s special envoy for Iran talks, Steve Witkoff, said the three-hour session was conducted through mediators who moved between the two delegations. Witkoff represented the US along with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. The two men had led the negotiations with Iran before the war began.
Iran has not commented on the meeting or said who attended. Trump also said in his speech that the conflict would end shortly after the US midterm elections in November.
The Russia-Ukraine war was another recurring topic.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Trump on Tuesday to discuss steps towards ending the war with Russia and a possible ceasefire on energy targets. This came after Trump said last week that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop striking energy targets. That arrangement broke down the next day, when Russia hit petrol stations in Kyiv and Ukraine bombed a Russian oil refinery.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio was scheduled to meet Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in New York on Wednesday morning, the State Department said.
Trump, in his speech, also praised the US military operation in January that removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power. He hailed a new agreement to expand the US military presence in Greenland and opposed calls for tighter regulation of artificial intelligence.
Also read: Cuban, Iranian delegations walk out during Trump’s UNGA speech: ‘Will not allow…’
What else is going on?
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres will step down after nearly a decade in office, and there is a fierce contest to succeed him. Guterres took office in January 2017, and his second term ends on December 31, 2026†.
The key candidates include:
- Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, a former foreign minister of Guyana
- Rebeca Grynspan, a former vice-president of Costa Rica who now heads the UN Conference on Trade and Development†
- Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency
- Macky Sall, a former president of Senegal
To win, a candidate will need the approval of Washington, Moscow and Beijing, which is no easy task at present. The Security Council recommends a nominee and the General Assembly appoints them. Each of the council’s five permanent members, including the US, Russia and China, can veto a candidate.
The contest comes as the UN faces a major financial crunch. For the past few years, the organisation has been in a struggling because member states – key among them the US – have delayed or withheld their required dues.
What matters for India?
India is expected to pursue its longstanding objectives at the assembly. These are a greater focus on counter-terrorism, support for inclusive growth and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and engagement with the Global South. It is likely to keep pressing for reform of UN institutions, including the Security Council. New Delhi is campaigning for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for 2028-29, and it has also made clear that it intends to play an active role in the election of the next secretary-general.
Jaishankar has met counterparts from Africa, Latin America and Europe. On Monday, on the sidelines of the high-level week, India held its first foreign ministers’ meeting with the Visegrad Four: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, an alliance of four central European countries.
Jaishankar also represented India at a meeting with European Union leaders, which included major Indo-Pacific countries such as Australia.
India has an interest in the talks on both wars. On Monday, Jaishankar met Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, continuing several months of intense diplomacy on the Russia-Ukraine war.
Trump, in his speech, also told the Assembly he had signed a sanctions law last week that allows him to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the five largest importers of Russian oil or natural gas.
The US President has not yet imposed the tariffs, but this could have a bearing on New Delhi, if he chooses to. India is among the top five buyers of Russian crude. “If necessary, I will have to use them,” he said.
