The United States President, Donald Trump, has taken a swipe at the United Nations, urging the global body to stop issuing statements and instead adopt firmer measures to end conflicts around the world.
Speaking on Tuesday at the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, Trump accused the organisation of being overly bureaucratic and ineffective in tackling crises.
“All they seem to do is write… Empty words don’t solve war,” he told world leaders, faulting the UN for relying on strongly worded letters that fail to translate into real action.
Highlighting his own record in conflict resolution, Trump claimed credit for helping to mediate disputes in regions including Pakistan and India, Cambodia and Thailand, Congo and Rwanda, Israel and Iran, Kosovo and Serbia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Egypt and Ethiopia. He argued that such roles should have been led by the UN.
Instead, he quipped that the world body had rewarded him with “a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.”
On humanitarian concerns, Trump stressed that his motivation was not personal glory but saving lives. “I want children to live and grow with their mothers and fathers, not millions killed,” he declared, adding that such outcomes meant more to him than a Nobel Peace Prize.
Turning to global threats, he reiterated that the “world’s number one sponsor of terror can never be allowed to possess the most dangerous weapon,” in an apparent reference to Iran.
He also criticised nations moving to unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state, saying such actions embolden Hamas. Instead, he urged international actors to prioritise the release of hostages.
On the Ukraine war, Trump maintained that China and India were fuelling Moscow’s aggression by purchasing Russian oil, while some NATO members had failed to fully cut off energy ties with Russia.
He further called for joint efforts to eliminate biological weapons and vowed that the United States would “blow individuals smuggling poisonous drugs out of existence.”
