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Biden Optimistic in Farewell UN Speech


President Biden used his last United Nations General Assembly address Tuesday to hammer home a message of optimism in the face of multiple deepening conflicts around the globe (The Wall Street Journal, subscription).

What’s going on: “I recognize the challenges from Ukraine to Gaza to Sudan and beyond: war, hunger, terrorism, brutality, record displacement of people, a climate crisis, democracy at risk, strains within our societies,” President Biden told a packed assembly.

  • But the president also “reminisced about how past wars in the Middle East led to historic diplomatic agreements, polarization in the U.S. ended in national unity and the international community rallied to solve global problems,” the Journal reports.

Keep working: He urged fellow leaders to stay the course in Ukraine and said there was still time for a U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

  • Though his refusal to allow Ukraine to use Western long-range missiles against Russia “has angered Kyiv,” according to the Journal, President Biden told the audience Tuesday: “We cannot grow weary. We cannot look away. And we will not let up on our support for Ukraine.”
  • In the Middle East, “a diplomatic solution is still possible,” he said. “In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security to allow the residents of both countries to return to their homes on the border safely. That’s what we’re working tirelessly to achieve.”
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