At UNGA, Joe Biden says US starting era of ‘relentless diplomacy’ after Afghan war ends

US president Joe Biden, delivering his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), on Tuesday said that America is starting a new era of “relentless diplomacy” following the end of the war in Afghanistan.

Biden also said the United States would be prepared to use force “if necessary” but that military power must be a “tool of last resort.”

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“The mission must be clear and achievable, undertaken with informed consent of the American people and whenever possible in partnership with our allies,” he added.

He also said that his nation would “double” its contribution to climate finance.

“This will make the United States a leader in public climate finance,” Biden told world leaders in New York, saying he would work with Congress to achieve the goal.

United States does not seek a ‘new Cold War’

Without mentioning China directly, Biden acknowledged increasing concerns about rising tensions between the two nations. But he said, “We are not seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs.”

“The United States is ready to work with any nation that steps up and pursues peaceful resolution to share challenges even if we have intense disagreement in other areas,” he said.

The president noted his decision to end America’s longest war last month, in Afghanistan, and set the table for his administration to shift US attention to intensive diplomacy with no shortage of crises facing the globe. He said he is driven by a belief that “to deliver for our own people, we must also engage deeply with the rest of the world.”

“We’ve ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan,” Biden said. “And as we close this period of relentless war, 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.”

US to make ‘additional commitments’ on handling of COVID-19

When the US will host a virtual summit with world leaders on the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday, Biden said announcements will be made on “additional commitments” to the health crisis.

The US president said the commitments would be announced “as we seek to advance the fight against COVID-19 and hold ourselves accountable around specific targets on three key challenges – saving lives now, vaccinating the world, and building back better.”

US ready to return to ‘full’ Iranian nuclear deal

Speaking on the Iranian nuclear deal, Biden said that Washington was prepared to return to “full compliance” if Tehran does the same.

He said the United States was “working” with China, France, Russia, Britain and Germany to “engage Iran diplomatically and to seek a return to” the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which America left in 2018.

“We’re prepared to return to full compliance if Iran does the same,” he added.

Biden says Palestinian state ‘best way’ to resolve conflict with Israel

Biden said that a sovereign and democratic Palestinian state is the “best way” to ensure Israel’s future.

“We must seek a future of greater peace and security for all people of the Middle East,” Biden said in a speech to the UN General Assembly.

“The commitment of the United States to Israel’s security is without question and our support for an independent Jewish state is unequivocal,” he said.

“But I continue to believe that a two-state solution is the best way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish democratic state, living in peace alongside a viable, sovereign and democratic Palestinian state,” he said.

Biden downplays tensions with France amid submarine dispute

The president was facing a healthy measure of skepticism from allies during his week of high-level diplomacy. The opening months of his presidency have included a series of difficult moments with friendly nations that were expecting greater cooperation from Biden following four years of Trump’s “America first” approach to foreign policy.

Eight months into his presidency, Biden has been out of sync with allies on the chaotic ending to the US war in Afghanistan. He has faced differences over how to go about sharing coronavirus vaccines with the developing world and over pandemic travel restrictions. And there are questions about the best way to respond to military and economic moves by China.

Biden also finds himself in the midst of a fresh diplomatic spat with France, the United States’ oldest ally, after announcing plans — along with Britain — to equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. The move is expected to give Australia improved capabilities to patrol the Pacific amid growing concern about the Chinese military’s increasingly aggressive tactics, but it upended a French defense contract worth at least $66 billion to sell diesel-powered submarines to Australia.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday there was a “crisis of trust” with the US as a result of the episode.

Biden downplayed the tensions with France. Asked by a reporter as he arrived at the UN on Tuesday how he planned to repair relations with the French, Biden responded merely, “They’re great.”

Before Biden’s arrival, EU Council President Charles Michel strongly criticised the Biden administration for leaving Europe “out of the game in the Indo-Pacific region” and ignoring the underlying elements of the trans-Atlantic alliance — transparency and loyalty — in the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the announcement of the US-UK-Australia alliance.

Despite such differences, Biden hoped to use his address to the General Assembly as well as a series of one-on-one and larger meetings with world leaders this week to make the case for American leadership on the world stage.

“There are points of disagreement, including when we have disagreed with the decisions other countries are making, the decision points of when countries have disagreed with the decisions we’re making,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “But the larger point here … is that we are committed to those alliances, and that always requires work from every president, from every global leader.”

In an interview before his meeting with Biden, Guterres told The Associated Press that he was concerned about the “completely dysfunctional” US-China relationship and that it could lead to a new cold war. Psaki said the administration disagreed with the assessment, adding that the US-China relationship was “one not of conflict but of competition.”

The secretary-general did not back off his concerns about the US-China tensions as he addressed leaders at the opening of Tuesday’s gathering.

Biden put a heavy emphasis on a need for world leaders to work together on the COVID-19 pandemic, meet past obligations to address climate change, head off emerging technology issues and firm up trade rules.

“We will choose to build a better future. We, you and I, we have the will and capacity to make it better. Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot afford to waste any more time. … We can do this,” he said.

With inputs from agencies