NEW YORK CITY — In his final address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Biden warned that the world is at a “tipping point” while preserving U.S. support for Ukraine, Israel's right to defend itself and declaring that Palestinians should be able to live in “their own state.”
Biden delivered his fourth and final address as US president to Congress on Tuesday, addressing leaders and representatives of 134 countries around the world.
“Today marks the fourth time I've addressed this Congress as president of the United States,” Biden said Tuesday morning. “And it will be my last time.”
When he was first elected to the US Senate in 1972, Biden reflected on the global order and said the world was at a “turning point” and in a “moment of tension and uncertainty.”
“The world was divided by the Cold War, the Middle East was heading toward war, and America was embroiled in the Vietnam War, the longest conflict in American history,” Biden said. “Our country was divided, filled with anger, and questions were raised about our staying power and our future. And yet, even then, I ran for office not out of despair, but out of optimism.”
Biden said that when he was elected president, the world was in a “time of new crisis and uncertainty.”
But under the Biden-Harris administration, officials have sought diplomacy amid concerns about global instability and escalating war in the Middle East, especially following the failed withdrawal from Afghanistan, the years-long war between Russia and Ukraine, the growing threat of Iran's nuclear program, increasing Chinese aggression and a crisis on the U.S. southern border.
“I truly believe we are at a new turning point in world history, and the choices we make today will define the future for decades to come,” Biden said Tuesday. “We will defend the principles that unite us, firmly oppose aggression, end current escalating conflict, and address global challenges like climate change, hunger and disease.”
“Putin's war has failed,” Biden said.
Biden stressed that the world “must not grow weary,” “look away” or “relax from our support for Ukraine.”
“We need to stick to our principles as we responsibly manage our competition with China so that it does not escalate into conflict,” he said.
Biden stressed that he is working to “bring greater peace and stability to the Middle East.”
“The world must not shrink from the horror of October 7th. Every nation has a responsibility to ensure that such an attack never happens again,” Biden said, referring to Hamas' brutal terror attack in Israel. “Thousands of armed Hamas terrorists invaded a sovereign nation and massacred more than 1,200 people, including 46 Americans, in their homes and at a music festival, committed a despicable act of sexual violence, and took 250 innocent people hostage.”
Biden said he met with the hostages' families.
“I grieve with them,” he said. “They're going through hell.”
But Biden said, “Innocent civilians in Gaza are also experiencing hell.”
Biden pointed to the ceasefire and hostage agreements his administration has pursued with Qatar and Egypt.
“Now is the time for the parties to finalize the terms, bring the hostages home, liberate Israel and Gaza from Hamas control, ease the suffering in Gaza and end this war,” he said.
Biden stressed that his administration is “determined to prevent a major war that would engulf the entire region.”
“All-out war is in nobody's interest,” he said. “If the situation escalates, a diplomatic solution is still possible.”
“Indeed, the only path to lasting safety is for our two nations' people to return to their homes,” Biden continued.
“We're working tirelessly to get there,” Biden said.
But when it came to the war in Gaza, Biden made no mention of the rise in anti-Semitism in the US and around the world since the October 7 attacks, instead discussing the “increase in violence against innocent Palestinians in the West Bank.”
Biden said the world needed to work toward “a two-state solution in which Israel can enjoy security and peace, normalize relations with full recognition with all its neighbors, and the Palestinian people can live in security with dignity and self-determination in their own state.”
Meanwhile, Biden declared that there must continue to be assurances that Iran “will never acquire a nuclear weapon.”
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
