This week, many global leaders will be coming to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City for the UN General Assembly, the 70th edition of the gathering. There is going to be a lot of people taking to the podium to make a lot of speeches, and United States President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had several things to say about Syria, ISIS, and more.
According to NBC News, President Barack Obama warned that "dangerous currents" threaten to create a "darker world" as he addressed the United Nations General Assembly. He also took the time to denounce Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad as a "tyrant" and saying "there is no room for accommodating an apocalyptic cult like ISIL".
The speech on Monday from President Obama is described as "defensive and accusatory" by CNN, and it seems like he is not only speaking to other nations but conservatives in his own government. He talked about the views of Republican presidential candidates on immigration and religious pluralism. It's pretty clear that he is referring to views of Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson, although he did not mention them by name.
The president also addressed his willingness to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, in order to resolve the conflict in Syria. The president is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the involvement of Russian military moves Syria, as well as recent actions that Russian has done in annexing portions of the Ukraine. The meeting between Putin and Obama is expected to be pretty tense as there are some serious issues that have to be delicately addressed.
In fact, Putin had his UN address about 90 minutes after Obama left the stage, in which he blamed the United States and its allies for creating a "power vacuum" in the Middle East and North Africa. He does seem to support a global alliance that will wage war against ISIS.
Last Sunday, President Obama made a speech asking for world leaders to work together on eliminating global hunger and poverty, as well as supporting a 15-year development agenda requiring trillions of dollars from countries and companies. President Obama also addressed the issues concerning the recent Iran nuclear accord, and stated it is an example of what can be accomplished with international cooperation and holding nations accountable for violating rules.
As part of the spirit of international cooperation, President Obama also talked about very improved relations between the United States and Cuba at his speech on Monday, and called for the embargo against this country to be lifted.
As President Obama has said: "We, the nations of the world, cannot return to the old ways of conflict and coercion. We cannot look backwards. We live in an integrated world, one in which we all have a stake in each other's success. We cannot turn back those forces of integration."
