US to Focus on Ending War When World Leaders Gather at UN

A handout still image taken from handout video provided on 17 September 2024 by the Russian Defense Ministry shows a Russian BM-21 Grad, a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, firing towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Russia. EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/Handout
A handout still image taken from handout video provided on 17 September 2024 by the Russian Defense Ministry shows a Russian BM-21 Grad, a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, firing towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Russia. EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/Handout
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US to Focus on Ending War When World Leaders Gather at UN

A handout still image taken from handout video provided on 17 September 2024 by the Russian Defense Ministry shows a Russian BM-21 Grad, a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, firing towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Russia. EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/Handout
A handout still image taken from handout video provided on 17 September 2024 by the Russian Defense Ministry shows a Russian BM-21 Grad, a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, firing towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Russia. EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/Handout

The US focus at next week's annual UN gathering of world leaders will include ending the scourge of war and revitalizing an overstretched aid system, US envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Tuesday.

She specifically mentioned Russia's war in Ukraine, the conflict in Sudan, instability in Haiti, the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip and violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar.

"As we work to silence the guns, we must also redouble our efforts to address humanitarian crises," Thomas-Greenfield told reporters ahead of the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly.

"Aid workers put their own lives at risk to save the lives of others. But what we hear time and time again is that humanitarians don't have the resources, they don't have the protection, they don't have the access they need to do their jobs," she said.

More than 130 heads of state or government are due to travel to New York to address the 193-member General Assembly, a week after a second assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump.

"The situation that happened with President Trump is unacceptable," Thomas-Greenfield said. "We have a responsibility to do everything possible to protect the heads of state who are coming here, but also protect their own political leaders."

"New York City has police everywhere, diplomatic security is supporting Secret Service to also provide security for all the heads of state who will be here," she said, adding that there had never been a security incident related to a head of state at the UN.



Zelenskiy Says Ukraine's Membership of NATO is 'Achievable'

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
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Zelenskiy Says Ukraine's Membership of NATO is 'Achievable'

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks as he attends a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron

Ukraine's membership of NATO is "achievable", but Kyiv will have to fight to persuade allies to make it happen, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainian diplomats in a speech on Sunday.
Ukraine has repeatedly urged NATO to invite Kyiv to become a member. The Western military alliance has said Ukraine will join its ranks one day but has not set a date or issued an invitation.
Moscow has cited the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO as one of the principal justifications for its 2022 invasion. Kyiv says membership in the Western alliance's mutual defense pact, or an equivalent form of security guarantee, would be crucial to any peace plan to ensure that Russia does not attack again.
"We all understand that Ukraine's invitation to NATO and membership in the alliance can only be a political decision," Zelenskiy told diplomats at a gathering in Kyiv. "Alliance for Ukraine is achievable, but it is achievable only if we fight for this decision at all the necessary levels."
Zelenskiy said allies needed to know what Ukraine can bring to NATO and how its membership in the alliance would stabilize global relations, Reuters reported.
Last week, Zelenskiy urged European countries to provide guarantees to protect Ukraine after the war with Russia ends and said Ukraine would ultimately need more protection through membership of the alliance.