Biden says Russia ‘shamelessly violated’ UN Charter with needless war in Ukraine
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said Russia had “shamelessly violated” the core tenets of the United Nations Charter with its “brutal, needless war” in Ukraine.
Biden’s response came as he took centre stage at the world forum to rally international support for Ukraine following Moscow’s military escalation and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s renewed nuclear threats. “We will stand in solidarity against Russia’s aggression. Period.”
Addressing the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York, Biden said reports of Russian abuses against civilians in Ukraine “should make your blood run cold”.
He said Putin’s new nuclear threats against Europe showed “reckless disregard” for his nation’s responsibilities as a signatory of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Putin has not attended UN since 2015, the year he sent military aircraft into Syria.
Biden also spoke about the consequences of the war on the global food supply. He then pledged $2.9 billion in global food security aid to address shortages caused by the war and the effects of climate change. He also praised a UN-brokered effort to create a corridor for Ukrainian grain to be exported by sea, and called on the agreement to be continued despite the ongoing conflict.
A day ago, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz slammed Putin’s aggression and accused him of “imperialism.”