Syria and Iran will be the key items on the agenda at the 68th General Assembly that opens in New York on Tuesday. The stakes are high, with world leaders from nearly 200 member states set to tackle challenges and reach agreements over disputed issues.
Among the most anticipated speeches at the General Assembly is
the address of Iran’s new President Hassan Rouhani, who is
scheduled to deliver his speech a few hours after Barack Obama's
welcoming address on September 24.
Rouhani, who will be accompanied on his visit by Iran's only
Jewish MP, tweeted that he is "ready for constructive
engagement” with the world "to show real image of great
Iranian nation."
Experts say, however, that the chances that the first
face-to-face encounter between the leaders of the two countries
since the 1970s would take place are slim. As things stand now,
even a handshake would be regarded a sign of a thaw in relations.
Israel has voiced concern over a potential meeting of the US and
Iranian presidents, saying Tehran's conciliatory advances to
world leaders in reality conceal an advancement of its disputed
nuclear program. Iran denies seeking atomic weapons. Israel
claims Iran has centrifuges for quickly turning low-enriched
uranium into bomb fuel, and says an Iranian bomb could be six
months from production.
Asked if there would be a historic Obama-Rouhani handshake, the
cabinet minister representing Israel at the UN forum in New York
replied "I hope not. I don't know. But really the important
thing is not just words and appearances. The important thing is
the actions. The important thing is the resolutions," Yuval
Steinitz told Israel's Army Radio.
Meanwhile, a recent poll commissioned by the international civic
organization Avaaz showed that 74 percent of Americans and 80
percent of Iranians actually support direct talks between the two
states.
“There are always what I guess you would call professional Iran
haters around, or the people who find it useful to beat the war
drum. But you have to ask yourself, what all of this enmity for
the last 34 years has accomplished. If you beat your chest for 34
years what’s the result going to be? A very sore chest,” a
veteran US diplomat held captive by revolutionaries in the
Iranian hostage crisis between 1979 and 1981, John Limbert, told
RT.
Limbert believes that any kind of interaction between the US and
Iran will be a beneficial step for all involved.
“We would have been talking to each other years ago, maybe not as
friends, but at least as two states with common things to talk
about. It does happen. It may just be a handshake, brief
encounter, but even that at the symbolic level would represent a
huge change. It’s obvious that the US and Iran do have things to
talk about over Syria,” he added.
Russia, US divided over Syria
In fact, the UN General Assembly is expected to get under way
amid a diplomatic battle over Syria between Russia and the US, as
RT's Anissa Naouai reports from United Nations Headquarters.
“John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov are set to meet on the sidelines
of the Assembly, but just as it seems diplomacy might prevail,
the Russian Foreign Minister says that the US is trying to
pressure Moscow into approving a UN resolution allowing for
military intervention. He adds that the US claims in exchange
they would be willing to continue working on Syria’s entry into
the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,”
she said.
President Barack Obama is to kick off the Tuesday morning session
with a speech on the need for the international community to
stand up to the use of chemical weapons by Syrian President
Bashar Assad, the White House said.
Washington and Moscow are divided over how to tackle the Syrian
crisis. The civil war, which has already raged for over two
years, has left over 100,000 people dead. A chemical attack near
Damascus on August 21, which killed some 1,426 people, including
women and children, prompted the US to threaten military action.
The experts were sent to investigate several cases of alleged use
of chemical weapons, but their work was disrupted by the August
21 attack. Russia says UN chemical weapons inspectors are to return to Syria on Wednesday to
continue their mission.
“US officials compromised on chemical weapons, but they
continue talking about how ‘the Syrian regime’, as they call it,
is guilty of the use of chemical weapons without providing
comprehensive proof. They constantly voice reservations that the
plan to punish Damascus up to a military intervention is still in
power,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told the Duma
on Tuesday.
On September 14, Lavrov together finally coordinated a plan to
secure Syrian chemical weapons by mid-2014 with the US State
Secretary John Kerry, following a suggestion from Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
Moscow managed to convince Washington of the need to work out an
agreement on a plan to contain and destroy Syria's chemical
weapon stockpiles. Moscow argues that any discrepancies and
disputes should only be resolved through consultation with the UN
Security Council, while the United States suggests that any
suspected violations are dealt with by military force.
Latin American leaders outraged by Obama
Update: Brazil's Rousseff to UN: US surveillance an
'affront'
Another sensitive issue likely to be brought up at the General
Assembly is the NSA leak fallout, which implicated the US in
wide-range surveillance of its own citizens, but also on foreign
governments and institutions.
Particularly, US relations with Latin America have recently
soured, and the speeches of some leaders at the General Assembly
might reflect recent rifts.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who is schedule to open the
Tuesday session, has postponed her state visit to Washington in
response to the US spying on her communications with top aides.
Rousseff, as well as former President Lula da Silva, said that
Obama should "personally apologize to the world."
Documents leaked by Edward Snowden and reported by the US
journalist Glenn Greenwald caused a furor in Brazil. Earlier this
month, TV Globo revealed in a report that the NSA monitored the
content of phone calls, emails, and mobile phone messages
belonging to President Rousseff and undefined "key advisers" of
the Brazilian government.
The NSA also spied on Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and
nine members of his office. A document dated June 2012 showed
that the Mexican President's emails were read through one month
before he was elected. In his communications, the
then-presidential candidate indicated who he would like to
appoint to several government posts.
The Brazilian government denounced the NSA surveillance as
“impermissible and unacceptable” and a violation of
Brazilian sovereignty.
Among those unhappy with the US foreign policies is Venezuela
which on September 20 sent a letter to the UN chief asking him to
take measures against the United States over the denial of visas
for some members of its delegation who are scheduled to attend
the UN General Assembly. Venezuela also requested that the UN
“demand that the government of the US abide by its
international obligations” as host of the Assembly. President
Maduro said members of his country’s delegation “are not
traveling to New York as tourists on vacation…we are going to a
UN function.”
Tension between the countries spiked when Venezuela’s foreign
minister told media outlets that the US denied a plane carrying
Maduro entrance into its airspace. The aircraft was en route to
China. Washington later granted the approval, stating that
Venezuela’s request had not been properly submitted. Elias Jaua
had denounced the move as “an act of aggression.”
Citing the incident, Bolivian President Evo Morales said he will
file a lawsuit against the US government for crimes against
humanity. He lashed out at the US after the Venezuelan
presidential jet was blocked from entering US airspace.
“I would like to announce that we are preparing a lawsuit
against Barack Obama to condemn him for crimes against
humanity,” said President Morales at a press conference in
the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz. He branded the US president as a
“criminal” who violates international law.
In early July the plane carrying Bolivian President from Moscow
to La Paz was grounded for 13 hours in Austria after it was
banned from European airspace because of suspicion it carried
fugitive Edward Snowden. Bolivia accused the US of trying to
"kidnap" Morales, after his plane was denied permission to fly
over Portugal and France.