Biden Urges "Cool the Blood"... Launches Fierce Attack on Putin Over 'Nuclear Threat'

Urgent Revision of Speech After Russian Military Mobilization Order Announcement
"Propose Increasing the Number of Permanent and Non-Permanent Council Members"

U.S. President Joe Biden is delivering a speech at the 77th United Nations General Assembly held in New York on the 21st (local time). (Photo by Reuters)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] U.S. President Joe Biden urged Russian President Vladimir Putin, who declared a 'military mobilization order,' to stop reckless and irresponsible nuclear threats.

In his speech at the 77th United Nations General Assembly held at the UN Headquarters in New York on the 21st (local time), he said, "President Putin recklessly disregarded the responsibility of the non-proliferation regime and today again made overt nuclear threats against Europe."

He strongly criticized Russia's nuclear threats, saying, "The five permanent members of the UN Security Council reaffirmed that commitment last January, but today we see a situation that unsettles it."

He continued, "This war is about extinguishing Ukraine's right to exist as a nation and the right of the Ukrainian people to exist," and fiercely condemned, "Wherever he is, wherever he lives, whatever he believes, the blood must be cooled."

Earlier, President Putin, through a pre-recorded 20-minute state TV video, declared a mobilization order for 300,000 reservists, stating, "We will mobilize all means to protect Russia," and claimed that the West is threatening Russia with nuclear weapons, hinting at the possibility of using nuclear weapons.

Along with President Putin's announcement, President Biden's UN General Assembly speech was reportedly hastily revised. Biden had planned to focus his speech on the Ukraine war and deliver a message to Russia, but as President Putin mentioned the possibility of using nuclear weapons, the tone of the speech was raised to an extreme level, according to CNN.

A White House official added that since they anticipated President Putin's military mobilization announcement, there was no need to completely rewrite the speech.

President Biden directly criticized Russia's nuclear threats and also hinted at replacing the permanent members of the Security Council that include Russia. Biden said, "(Nuclear) non-proliferation is one of the greatest successes of the UN, and we must not let the world regress," emphasizing, "Diplomacy is the best way to achieve this."

He added, "Now Russia is mobilizing more soldiers for the war," and pointed out, "(Russia) is planning fake votes to annex parts of Ukraine, which is a very serious violation of the UN Charter." He also criticized, "A permanent member of the UN Security Council invaded its neighbor to erase a sovereign country from the map," saying, "Russia shamelessly violated the core doctrine of the UN Charter."

President Biden stated, "Upholding the principles of the UN Charter is the duty of all responsible UN member states," and mentioned, "The Security Council members, including the United States, must continuously defend and uphold the UN Charter."

He also proposed increasing the number of permanent and non-permanent members. Biden said, "To operate the Security Council effectively, except in exceptional and special circumstances, the use of veto power by permanent members should be restrained," adding, "This is why the United States supports expanding both permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council. We have long supported offering permanent seats to African, Latin American, and Caribbean countries."

President Biden said, "This year the world faced a test, but we did not hesitate and chose freedom and sovereignty," and "We chose the principles that all member states that adopted the UN Charter must follow, and stood with Ukraine."

He then mentioned the global food crisis caused by the Ukraine war and announced $2.9 billion (approximately 4 trillion won) in support for food security.

He emphasized, "Russia is shifting the responsibility to Western sanctions and spreading falsehoods," and said, "Our sanctions clearly allow Russia to export food and fertilizer. There are no restrictions." He urged Russia's decision, saying, "Only Russia can end this crisis."

The White House said the $2.9 billion support aims to strengthen food supplies amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, inflation, and global supply chain issues, and is based on the approximately $6.9 billion already pledged by the United States.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.