Joe Biden calls for diplomatic solution to Middle East conflict in final United Nations address
Joe Biden has called for an end to conflicts in the Middle East in his final address to world leaders at the UN General Assembly.
In his speech in New York, the US president said now was the time for Israel and Hamas to finalise the terms of a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.
Mr Biden said the families of those taken hostage were “going through hell” and added: “Innocent civilians in Gaza are also going through hell.”
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Speaking about Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon edging closer to an all-out war, Mr Biden said: “Full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest.
“A diplomatic solution is still possible. In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security.”
Mr Biden also condemned Israeli settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and said progress towards peace in the Middle East would put the world in a stronger position to respond to “the ongoing threat posed by Iran”.
“Together we must deny oxygen to its terrorist proxies,” he said – referring to Iran-backed groups Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi militants in Yemen – “and ensure that Iran will never, ever obtain a nuclear weapon.”
He had a more hopeful outlook for the Middle East when he addressed the UN a year ago, when he spoke of a “sustainable, integrated Middle East” coming into view.
During his speech, Mr Biden also praised the support his Western allies have given to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.
“The good news is Putin’s war has failed in its core aim. He set out to destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is still free,” he said.
He called for world leaders to continue their support for Ukraine, adding: “We cannot grow weary. We cannot look away, and we will not let up on our support for Ukraine, not until Ukraine wins with a just, durable peace.”
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Little sign of urgency from president on diplomatic intervention in Middle East
It was not the high note Joe Biden would have hoped for in his last speech at the UN.
With the world in crisis on so many fronts in the dying months of his presidency, there was little hope of that.
Mr Biden has built so much of his political career in foreign policy and yet his legacy overseas is now unravelling.
It was far from his finest speech. He went through the list of achievements and challenges. His words lacked conviction. His tone was flat.
Most of all the speech was overshadowed by the spiralling crisis in the Middle East. On that, the president seemed tin-eared.
He spoke of the ceasefire deal his diplomats have tried to forge over Gaza. It is for now dead in the water but not for Mr Biden. “Now is a time for the parties to finalise terms,” he said.
What the region needs now is urgent diplomatic intervention by the US and its allies here at the UN.
There was little sign of that urgency from the president in this speech. He seemed to be going through the motions in the twilight of his presidency.
‘Some things are more important than staying in power’
With four months left in office, the speech was one of Mr Biden’s last high-profile opportunities as president to put forward the case for American support for Ukraine, which could be placed in doubt if former president Donald Trump defeats vice president Kamala Harris.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is still trying to galvanise Mr Biden into loosening restrictions on the use of Western-supplied long-range missiles, so Ukrainian forces can use them to hit targets in Russia.
Mr Biden will hear from Mr Zelenskyy about a new Ukrainian peace plan when they meet in Washington this Thursday.
During the course of the war, Mr Biden has initially resisted Ukrainian requests for certain military assets, such as M1 Abrams tanks and F-16 fighter jets, before relenting and agreeing to their use.
Mr Biden concluded his final speech to the UN General Assembly as US president with a message to world leaders: “My fellow leaders, let us never forget, some things are more important than staying in power. It’s your people.”
Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.
Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.
The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.
In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”
Thousands gathered in Washington DC to rally against various Trump policies. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Another protester took aim at Mr Trump‘s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”
Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Demonstrators in NYC. Pic: AP
People marching in Atlanta, Georgia. Pic: Reuters
A rally in Vermont. Pic: The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.
“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.
A drone view of the protest at the Utah State Capitol building. Pic Reuters
A protester sports a Handmaid’s Tale costume. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.
Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
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Mr Trump – who shook financial markets with his tariffs announcement this week – spent the day in Florida, playing a round of golf before returning to his Mar-a-Lago residence.
People protest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
Activists in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Pic: AP
Some four miles from Mar-a-Lago, more than 400 people gathered – and drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who held up signs including one which read: “Markets tank, Trump golfs.”
The White House has said Mr Trump plans to go golfing again on Sunday.
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