NEW YORK (Fwrd Axis) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday called on the world to stand with Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia as the fighting approaches its second year.
Speaking to the United Nations in New York, Biden placed the blame squarely on Russia for the war while urging the world to stand with Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
“If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure? I respectfully suggest the answer is no. We have to stand up to this naked aggression today and deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow,” Biden said.
“That’s why the United States, together with our allies and partners around the world, will continue to stand with the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity and their freedom,” he added.
The President made comments on climate change, artificial intelligence, and expansion to the United Nations Security Council. However, it was his remarks on A.I. that were the most telling.
“We need to be sure they’re used as tools of opportunity, not as weapons of oppression,” he said. “To make sure we govern this technology, not the other way around, having it govern us.”
One day after he slammed his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, in a speech at a fundraiser warning that Trump was “determined to destroy democracy,” Biden vowed to defend the United States’ democracy.
“We will defend democracy: our best tool to meet the challenges that we face around the world. We’re working to show how democracy can deliver in ways that matter to people’s lives,” he said.
The President used China as an example, repeating his comments from his trip to Vietnam, saying the United States is not looking to contain China.
“I want to be clear and consistent: We seek to responsibly manage the competition between our countries so it does not tip into conflict. I’ve said we are for de-risking, not decoupling on China,” he said, warning that the US will “push back on aggression.”
Biden’s remarks at the U.N. come a week after he returned to the U.S. from the G-7 in India and days before he hosts Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Thursday.