Joe Biden Urges Leaders To Stand By Alliances In His Final UN Speech

President Joe Biden defended his efforts to build coalitions to address global challenges, urging allies to continue that work even as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East place fresh strains on alliances during his final address at the United Nations General Assembly.

Biden pitched collective action to address a wide range of emerging global concerns and argued that his efforts to strengthen and expand international institutions had paid dividends, despite the turmoil.

“Many look at the world today and see difficulties and react with despair. But I do not. I won’t. As leaders, we don’t have the luxury,” he added. “I recognize the challenges from Ukraine to Gaza to Sudan and beyond. War, hunger, terrorism, brutality, record displacement of people, the climate crisis, democracy at risk.”

The address comes, though, as the collective values Biden championed are being tested by the grinding war in Ukraine and a Middle East conflict that threatens to envelop the region. Making his message resonate among delegates in the assembly hall — and with the US electorate just six weeks from Election Day — presented a steep challenge for a diminished president.

“I decided after fifty years in public service, it’s time for new generation of leadership, to take my nation forward,” Biden said, spotlighting his decision not to seek reelection. “My fellow leaders, let us never forget: some things are more important than staying in power. It’s your people. We are here to serve the people, not the other way around.”

Biden urged allies to stand steadfast with Ukraine as it fights to repel Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion — a war that has dragged on for two and a half years — saying that Kyiv’s allies “cannot let up.”

“The good news is Putin’s war has failed,” Biden said. “The world now has another choice to make: Will we sustain our support to help Ukraine win this war and preserve its freedom or walk away, let aggression be renewed and a nation be destroyed.”

“I know my answer. We cannot grow weary. We cannot look away, and we will not let up on our support for Ukraine,” Biden added.

And he pressed for a cease-fire in Gaza and for diplomacy to prevent an escalating clash between Israel and Hezbollah from widening. 

“Full scale war is not anyone’s interest,” he said. “Even as the situation is escalating, a diplomatic solution is still possible.”

Domestically, Biden has become a political afterthought after his decision to exit the presidential race, amid growing concern over his acuity. Allies and competitors alike are awaiting what kind of America they might deal with at next year’s summit.

Biden on Tuesday touted his efforts to “strengthen our network of alliances and partnerships across the Indo-Pacific” even as he insisted those partnerships “are not against any nation.”

Biden also urged collective action to address emerging technologies, in particular AI — a priority for his administration which has sought to establish safeguards for its use.

“Artificial intelligence is going to change our ways of life, our ways of work, our ways of war,” Biden said. “Nothing is certain about how AI will evolve or how it will be deployed. No one knows all the answers.”

While Biden’s remarks were tailored for a global audience, his domestic intentions were clear. His administration’s foreign policy vision is an implicit contrast with the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, whose presidency was colored by an isolationist stance and a stated willingness to withdraw the US from defense agreements and start trade wars with other nations.

Trump has declined to say whether he wants Ukraine to win the war, saying only that the conflict must end and he would work to do so before he even enters office, if he wins in November.

Still, the limits of Biden’s foreign policy doctrine have become apparent as wars have tested popular support for some of his critical partnerships.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, pledges to maintain US support for Ukraine if elected, but has tried to slightly distance herself from Biden on the war in Gaza, frequently mentioning the suffering of the Palestinian people and reminding Israel that its conduct of war matters.

Biden is not scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also plans to be in New York this week — though aides pointed out that informal pull-asides often happen on the margins of the larger meetings.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday will present Biden and Harris with a “victory plan” to end the war. His proposal comes with some demands, including another push to join NATO and a commitment from Biden to a sustained supply of advanced weapons.

The Ukrainian leader has described the plan as a blueprint for how to force Putin to seek peace. Kyiv has also worried that a cease-fire without clear guarantees would leave Russia free to strike again after re-arming. The White House has been wary of providing — or allowing the use of — long-range weapons for Ukraine to strike inside Russia, out of fear the war will escalate and directly draw in NATO countries.

Trump has declined to say if he wants Kyiv to win the war, insisting  he would force Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table if elected. At a rally Monday, he called Zelenskiy “the greatest salesman in history” for his ability to secure US aid.