WASHINGTON — With Global South leaders concerned that the war on Ukraine will again dominate the U.N. General Assembly at the expense of development challenges, U.S. President Joe Biden will use his Tuesday remarks in New York to argue that the world cannot address one without the other.
Supporting Kyiv and addressing Global South concerns such as poverty, high inflation and debt are connected goals, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told VOA on Friday during a White House briefing.
“Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine has caused ripple effects that impact food security, energy security and other forms of harm to countries around the world,” Sullivan said. “And so, ending this war on just terms, on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, will certainly benefit not just the Ukrainian people but people everywhere.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be attending in person for the first time since the conflict broke out and will make his case directly to the General Assembly on Tuesday. He is set to speak at a U.N. Security Council special meeting on Ukraine on Wednesday that could place him in the same room as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is representing Russia.
Sullivan said there were no plans for Biden to attend the Security Council meeting on Ukraine. Instead, he will host the Ukrainian leader at the White House on Thursday.
The U.S. and its allies must be able to continue to support Ukraine and provide additional economic assistance to the Global South, said former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, who is now senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.
“Whether or not the Global South ultimately comes to understand the great stakes in stopping the Kremlin aggression in Ukraine, we can stop that aggression,” he told VOA.
Global South goals
Efforts to address Global South needs, including tackling poverty and diseases and improving access to clean water and energy, are trailing far behind the target that U.N. member countries have set for themselves through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Source : VOA News
