In his speech at the UN, Joe Biden assured that the United States was not looking for a “new cold war”

Faced with a reduced audience due to restrictions related to the coronavirus, Joe Biden spoke to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. for the first time as president and warned that this is a “decisive decade for the world” and that it is therefore necessary to work “together”. He further assured that the United States don’t look for “a new cold war” with China and declared that a “new era of endless diplomacy” was dawning.

Biden spoke of the challenges of the pandemic, of fighting for democracy and against global warming. He was a measured speech, in stark contrast to the expansive and emphatic tone of his predecessor Donald Trump, who boasted of his contempt for multilateralism.

But there is a certain skepticism about Biden’s words among his allies, who actually see him as someone who has changed very little Trump’s policy.

Biden was looking for a big shine when he first appeared at the UN, but he arrived on stage in a difficult period for his presidency following the chaotic withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan and a new deal with Australia and the UK which has infuriated France, one of Washington’s oldest European allies, but also from the European Union.

For Biden, the challenges that today require a united response include “ending this pandemic, dealing with the climate crisis, managing shifts in global power dynamics, shaping the role of the world on vital issues such as the commerce, cyber and emerging technologies and dealing with the threat of terrorism, ”the president said.

China

Although he did not explicitly mention China, everyone understood that he was referring to this country when he said: “We are not looking for a new cold war or a world divided into rigid blocks ”.

And he added that “the United States is ready to work with any nation that engages and seek a peaceful solution share the challenges, even if we have intense disagreements in other areas ”.

As expected, the pandemic occupied a good part of his speech and said that at this time “great pain and tremendous opportunity” are being mixed to effect change and increase global cooperation and competition.

On another key point on his agenda, Biden called on the UN to take measures against climate change and said humanity is in a “red alert” situation, near a “point of no return” for extreme weather events that claim lives and cause billions of dollars in damage.

The controversial withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan was not mentioned as a failure but as an opening opportunity: “We have ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan and as we close this era of endless war, we are opening an era of endless diplomacy,” Biden said.

At the end of his speech, the President met with the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, with which it has just signed a military and strategic alliance, with the United Kingdom, curb the power of China and that irritated the European Union, in particular France. Surprisingly, Australia bought atomic submarines from the United States and canceled a contract with Paris.

French Chancellor Jean-Yves Le Drian went so far as to say that the alliance was a “brutal, one-sided and unpredictable” decision of Biden who reminded him a lot of Trump’s actions and his motto “America First”.

“A basic principle among the allies is that we talk to each other. We cannot hide and implement alternative strategies. It is surprising and shocking; this is why there is a crisis of confidence beyond the fact that the contract is broken, ”added the French minister.

European allies have increasingly become more skeptical on Biden’s message that “America is back”, in light of a withdrawal from Afghanistan that has left NATO countries on the sidelines and as he advances in a Chinese agenda that many find it unnecessarily conflicting.

Biden offered an olive branch on Monday easing restrictions on European travelers entering the United States. But meeting the Australian in New York was an important gesture of reaffirmation of the alliance because it was the only bilateral that Biden had at the UN, and then in Washington, he met the other partner, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Washington, correspondent

ap