(Central News Agency, United Nations Headquarters in New York, comprehensive foreign reports on the 26th) After a week of speeches, meetings and sideline diplomacy, world leaders drove away from the United Nations. While there is no breakthrough in the world's most intractable conflicts, discussions of wars in Iran and Ukraine have advanced slightly, and global powers are debating the risks of artificial intelligence with industry leaders.
Reuters compiled the following six key points from dozens of panels and hundreds of talks during the United Nations General Assembly this week:
Iran resumes diplomatic consultations
It is probably the United Nations' most important role this time that U.S. and Iranian officials have resumed shuttle diplomacy for the first time since the ceasefire broke down in July. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicated through the mediator.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that despite the fierce confrontation between the leaders of Iran and the United States in the United Nations General Assembly Hall, with the United States threatening to "annihilate" Iran and Iran accusing the United States of having a "bullying mentality," the two sides must continue to mediate.
The senior official said Tehran was reviewing Washington's response to its proposals, which include lifting the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
But a deal seems far away. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that reaching an agreement will still take time and hard work.
Ukrainian food and energy
Rubio also held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and later stated that both Ukraine and Russia intend to achieve a limited ceasefire on grain and energy-related goals.
Ukraine and its allies are scrambling to secure limited deals on energy infrastructure and Black Sea shipping before winter, fearing another Russian attack on power and heating facilities.
However, a few hours after Rubio spoke on the 23rd, at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine issues, there was no sign that Russia had any willingness to negotiate on any project. Lavrov said at the meeting: "No matter what Europe thinks, it just wants to pause and use this time to deliver weapons to the Kiev regime."
AI overshadows climate issues
At this time, many AI security incidents occurred one after another, and top researchers warned that AI may endanger the survival of mankind, triggering unprecedented attention. This conference on climate change, which has been the focus of discussion at the United Nations in recent years, has been largely replaced by debates related to artificial intelligence (AI).
The Security Council meeting invited OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to attend the meeting in person, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei attended the meeting via video conference. Industry leaders have called on governments to cooperate in managing AI development.
At the same time as they spoke, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese disclosed that an AI agent developed by OpenAI hacked into the Australian government health information portal in June and obtained public and non-public files. This incident highlights the urgency of related concerns.
U.S. President Trump, who has always dismissed the risks of AI as a "hoax" and a "ridiculous conspiracy," stated at the United Nations that he "opposes any attempt to establish a globalist solution to control AI." He described AI as amazing and assured that the United States will deal with it prudently.
Appear unexpectedly
The most unexpected focus of this conference is Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez. She used the trip to hold face-to-face talks with Trump for the first time since he came to power following a night raid by U.S. troops to arrest then-President Nicolas Maduro.
The Venezuelan delegation's trip focused on restructuring billions of dollars in sovereign debt and met with U.S. officials, multilateral lending organizations and businesses.
In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump declared that "the winner takes all" in Venezuela and said that the oil agreement signed by the United States and the Caracas authorities last month "may be the largest deal in history."
unexpected absence
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander-in-chief of the Sudanese government forces who has been representing the Sudanese government at the UN General Assembly since the coup, became the most surprising absentee because the United States revoked his visa. According to Sudanese and multiple sources, this is related to the fact that the ceasefire proposal supported by the United States was rejected by the Khartoum authorities.
The dispute is likely to further strain relations between the United States and Sudan's military junta at a critical moment in the civil war. The United Nations calls the situation in Sudan the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Another high-profile absence was Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. He delivered a speech via video call, condemning the United States' restriction on the Palestinian delegation's access to the United Nations.
UN faces uncertainty
Richard Gowan, an expert at the International Crisis Group, pointed out that although the financially strapped United Nations is no longer in a "free fall" of rapid deterioration, it is still mired in an "endless crisis." The United Nations is facing budget constraints, declining influence and rising geopolitical conflicts.
While Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered his final speech to the General Assembly, some politicians and former United Nations officials are also publicly or privately seeking to take over the position. Guterres' second term ends on December 31.
Including former Vice President of Costa Rica Rebeca Grynspan and Guyana's Ambassador to the United Nations Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett led the informal vote.
