UN Secretary-General Guterres warned of the possibility of a new cold war between China and the United States and urged the two world powers to repair the current “completely out-of-balance” relationship.
Guterres said before the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, “We need to avoid the cold war at all costs. This cold war will be different from the past, and it may be more dangerous and difficult to control.” It is reported that global leaders will be here. The conference discussed the new crown epidemic, climate change and other important global issues.
Guters Start more active negotiations on the issue.
Guterres pointed out in an interview with an Associated Press reporter last Saturday, “Unfortunately, we only saw confrontation today.”
He also pointed out that “we need to rebuild normal relations between the two major powers”. He also added that “solving the problem of vaccination, climate change and many other global challenges is crucial, but if there is no internal, especially It is a constructive relationship between superpowers. These problems cannot be resolved.”
Two years ago, Guterres warned global leaders that the world may split into two camps. The United States and China will create competing Internet, exchange rate, trade and financial rules, “and their respective zero-sum geopolitical and military strategy”.
Guterres reiterated this warning in an interview with the Associated Press reporter, adding that two rival geopolitical and military strategies would constitute “danger” and divide the entire world. Therefore, he believes that this shaky relationship must be repaired as soon as possible.
“Complex Dilemma”
The so-called “Cold War” between the Soviet Union and its eastern allies, and the United States and its western allies began immediately after World War II and lasted until the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. This is a conflict between rival ideologies between two nuclear superpowers: communism and centralization on one side, and capitalism and democracy on the other.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations stated that the new Cold War may be even more dangerous because the Soviet-U.S. hostilities set clear rules and both sides are aware of the risks posed by nuclear annihilation. He pointed out that this has led to the emergence of behind-the-scenes channels and forums “to ensure that the situation does not get out of control.”
Guterres pointed out, “Now, everything has become more flexible, and even the crisis management experience that existed in the past no longer exists.”
He also stated that the United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines to enable them to carry out unmonitored operations in Asia. “This is only a small part of a more complex problem…that is, between China and the United States. A relationship that is completely out of balance”.
This secretly negotiated agreement angered China and France. Prior to this, France and Australia signed a contract worth at least $66 billion to purchase 12 French-made conventional submarines.
In this interview conducted by the Associated Press reporter, Guterres also talked about three major issues that world leaders will discuss this week: the deteriorating climate crisis, the raging new crown epidemic, and the renewal of the Taliban. The uncertain future of Afghanistan under rule.
On August 15 this year, the Taliban successfully seized power in Afghanistan without fighting extensively with the Afghan government forces trained by the U.S. military. At that time, the U.S. military was in the final stage of withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan to end this long-term effort. 20 years of war.
What role will the United Nations play in the new Afghanistan? Guterres replied that he believed that the participation of the United Nations “can guarantee the inclusiveness of a sudden government, or guarantee that all human rights are respected, or that there will be no more terrorists in Afghanistan, or that drug smuggling will stop.” , But just “a fantasy.”
He also emphasized that, after all, the United States and many other countries have stationed thousands of soldiers in Afghanistan and spent trillions of dollars, and they have not been able to solve the problems in this country-even some people think that this has made the problem worse. .
He also stated that despite the “limited capacity and influence” of the United Nations, it plays a key role in leading the provision of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. He also pointed out that the United Nations is still reminding the Taliban to pay attention to the issue of respect for human rights, especially the protection of women’s rights.
Guterres pointed out that “obviously, different forces in the Taliban leadership are vying for power” and believes this is another reason why the international community should engage with the Taliban.
The role of the United States
Although former U.S. President Trump pursues the “America First” policy, current U.S. President Joe Biden has reiterated the United States‘ commitment to international multilateral institutions. Biden will attend the high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly for the first time as CEO on the 21st.
Guterres said that Biden’s commitments to global climate action, including rejoining the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which Trump has announced withdrawing, “may be the most important of all commitments.”
Guterres stated that under Biden’s leadership, the “relationship environment between the United States and the United Nations has been completely different.” But he added, “In order to ensure normal relations with the United States in the previous administration, I have done everything I can — and I am proud of it.”
Guterres also expressed regret that countries have failed to work together to deal with global warming and ensure that people in every country can be vaccinated against the new crown.
When talking about the fight against the new crown epidemic in the past year, he also pointed out that “we have not made any real progress on the issue of effective coordination of global efforts.”
On the climate issue, he pointed out, “A year ago, we saw clearer actions in the right direction, but recently, such movements have slowed down. Therefore, if we don’t want to fall into disaster, we will This action needs to be accelerated again.”
Guterres also said that in his native Portugal, 80% of the population has been vaccinated against the new crown, while in many African countries, less than 2% of the population has been vaccinated against the new crown. This is “completely unacceptable.” “Condition.
“From the perspective of defeating the virus, this is completely stupid. If the virus continues to spread in the southern part of the earth like wildfire, then more mutant strains will appear.” “We know that mutations will cause these viruses. More contagious and more dangerous.”
He once again urged the G20 that failed to jointly respond to the new crown epidemic in early 2020 to create conditions for the global new crown vaccination plan. He also said that such a plan must unite vaccine-producing countries with international financial institutions and pharmaceutical companies to double vaccine production and ensure a fair distribution of vaccines.
“I think this is possible,” Guterres pointed out. “It depends on the political will of countries.”
He also pointed out that wealthy developed countries use 20% of their GDP to solve economic recovery problems, while middle-income countries account for nearly 6%, while the least developed countries only account for less than 6% of their GDP. 2%. He also said that this has created a state of frustration and distrust for some developing countries that have received neither vaccines nor recovery assistance.
Guterres stated that the gap between developed and developing countries is “very dangerous for global security” and “it is also extremely dangerous for the ability to unite the world against climate change.”
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