UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: The world cannot go on like this

Mr Guterres' alarming assessment came in his opening remarks at the annual summit of the UN General Assembly, where heated debate is expected to take place on Tuesday when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov address the assembly.

US President Joe Biden is also among the world leaders who will deliver keynote speeches ahead of the meetings on September 21. White House officials said Biden is expected to continue his harsh criticism of Russia and call on world leaders to increase pressure on Moscow.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Photo: AP.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is likely to direct his attacks at the United States for refusing to yield to Tehran's demands in difficult negotiations to restore the nuclear deal signed under President Obama.

The war in Ukraine, Iran’s nuclear program, tensions over Taiwan and other controversies were all over the first day of leaders’ speeches on September 20. Secretary-General Guterres warned that geopolitical divisions were “undermining the work” of the UN Security Council.

“The international community is not ready or willing to deal with the great and pressing challenges of our time,” said Mr. Guterres. “Crisis like the war in Ukraine and the multiplication of conflicts around the world, the climate emergency and the loss of biodiversity, the financial crisis… threaten the future of humanity and the fate of our planet.”

“The division between the world’s major powers undermines international law, erodes people’s trust in democratic institutions and undermines all forms of international cooperation,” Mr. Guterres stressed. “We cannot continue like this.”

The UN secretary-general's remarks were seen as a wake-up call as leaders and top diplomats from more than two dozen countries spoke on September 20, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

While French President Macron has not spared words in condemning Russia, saying that this country is causing division and destroying the world order, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has sent a rather neutral message. Mr. Erdogan has emerged as a key factor and mediator in the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

As a NATO member, Türkiye has supplied Ukraine with armed drones, but Erdogan has also met repeatedly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and recently worked with United Nations officials to broker a deal to ensure safe Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea.

Russian President Putin will not come to New York, USA to attend the annual summit of the United Nations General Assembly this time. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation to attend the event.

Before leaving for New York, Mr. Lavrov on September 19 called for “additional contacts between countries” to solve global problems.

“We are witnessing the accumulation of a crisis process, both in terms of economic policy and in terms of the policy of providing energy to humanity. It is the destruction of the foundations on which the entire global system rests that has directly caused this process.”

According to Mr. Lavrov, during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, there will be conflicting assessments of different actions by different countries and this is "unavoidable".

Speaking yesterday (20 September), Mr Guterres expressed regret for what happened in Ukraine but focused more on what he called a “one-off global cost of living crisis” that was “exacerbated by the war in Ukraine”. The UN chief called on the world to “come together” to overcome divisions – citing the recent Ukraine grain deal as a hopeful sign.

“Our world is in deep trouble. Divisions are deepening. Inequalities are widening and challenges are becoming more widespread. Make no mistake, we are in ‘turbulent waters’,” Mr. Guterres warned./.