“Russia should allow the export of grain from Ukraine and stop destroying the infrastructure of Ukrainian ports”

Promotion of US interests and values, reform of the UN Security Council, cooperation with partners and strengthening of global support for Ukraine – these will be the main priorities of US President Joe Biden within the framework of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

This was stated by the strategic communication coordinator of the US National Security Council during a briefing for the international press John Kirby on Monday.

“In particular, for the mobilization of financial resources for the Global South, for general development and infrastructure, strengthening cooperation to overcome the climate crisis and strengthening global support for Ukraine in the defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, as they continue to resist the Russian Federation’s war of aggression.”

On Tuesday, Biden will deliver his annual address to the General Assembly. “In this speech, he will outline the steps the administration has taken to advance American leadership based on agreements to cooperate with other nations to address the world’s most pressing problems,” announced a representative of the US National Security Council.

In addition, Kirby emphasized that many of the current problems faced by the world, and in particular the countries of the South, are the consequences of the Russian war in Ukraine.

“Many of the challenges they face – certainly not all, I’m not saying that – but many of them have been exacerbated, if not caused, by Putin’s war in Ukraine. Indeed, the Russians want you to believe that this is the West’s fault, that they are not guilty – because they are never guilty. But it is their fault. The food insecurity, economic problems, inflation that many countries are facing – are largely caused by Putin’s war in Ukraine, especially when it comes to food insecurity. Recently the Russians also decided not to continue the grain agreement in the Black Sea. Who will pay for this? Obviously, the Ukrainian people continue to pay the highest price in this situation – but the countries of the Global South with below-average incomes will also have to pay,” he emphasizes Kirby.

In turn, a journalist from a Polish publication asked Kirby about the need to reform the UN Security Council, limiting or blocking the right of veto for the Russian Federation. Thus, according to the journalist, the American president calls for the expansion of the Security Council by adding new members to it, despite the fact that the main source of dysfunction of the Security Council is the veto power of such members as Russia, which openly violate the basic principles of the UN charter.

“The president’s main focus is on creating a more inclusive and expanded Security Council, this applies to both permanent and non-permanent members. As for what Russia is doing, they can make things easier for everyone if they just withdraw their troops from Ukraine and stop violating the UN Charter, which they signed up to. And if they actually follow through on the commitments that they signed up to in the UN Security Council resolutions on the arms trade with North Korea. All they have to do is follow through on what they themselves voted for. And that what we want to see from Russia, except, of course, leaving Ukraine,” he believes Kirby.

Kirby also commented on the recent visit of the North Korean leader to Russia. According to Kirby, the US currently does not see facts of military cooperation between the two sanctioned states.

“We have not seen any signs that the DPRK has changed its calculations and decided to provide the Russian Armed Forces with lethal weapons. We are still convinced that it is not in the interests of the DPRK to do so. So we will continue to watch, but at the moment we do not see any signs that in there have been some changes in this regard,” said a representative of the White House administration.

Kirby also emphasized that potential military cooperation between the DPRK and the Russian Federation would be a violation of many UN Security Council resolutions, as well as the previously announced public statements of the leader of North Korea.

“We have been following the development of cooperation between North Korea and Russia for a long time. And we have made public our concerns about their possible cooperation at the leadership level. We have also already called on the DPRK to fulfill its own public commitments not to support Putin’s war in Ukraine. We have certainly seen the comments Kremlin after the meeting with Kim Jong-un that they say no deal has been made. Well, we take that with a grain of salt and will continue to monitor developments. Any deal between these countries would be a violation of UNSC resolutions, , which were signed by the Russians themselves. We will also continue negotiations with our partners at the UN, about cooperation in holding both sides accountable if they continue to move in this direction,” he concluded Kirby.

See also: UN General Assembly. What are the most anticipated events for Ukraine?