Every September, world leaders descend on New York for the United Nations General Assembly. This year, while President Joe Biden will lead the U.S. delegation, the leaders of China, France, India, and Russia have chosen to give the summit a pass. Russia will be represented by its foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.
Nineteen months on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations continues to struggle with Moscow’s presence as a permanent member of the Security Council, a position that gives it the ability to veto important policies. How are countries working around this? Is the United Nations paralyzed, or can it still bring nations together to advance policies?
Linda Thomas-Greenfield is the Biden administration’s ambassador to the United Nations. She joined FP’s editor in chief for an interview just as high level week in New York was about to begin.
When asked what the U.N. can achieve on Russia’s war in Ukraine during UNGA, Linda Thomas-Greenfield says Russia is isolated and has been condemned by more than 140 countries thus far.
According to the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un shows Russia is desperate. She said violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions will be held accountable.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield on why she doesn’t agree that the United States is less focused on the United Nations than in the past, saying President Joe Biden will prove the U.S. commitment to the organization during UNGA.
Watch Biden’s ambassador to the U.N. answer a question from an FP subscriber about why regional crises in Africa don’t seem to play a big role at UNGA.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
Linda Thomas-Greenfield is the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She is a seasoned diplomat, having served as ambassador to Liberia and in several other diplomatic postings around the globe. She retired from the U.S. foreign service in 2017 after a 35-year career, and then she returned to serve in her current role in President Joe Biden’s administration. She served as the assistant secretary of state for African affairs under the Obama administration from 2013 to 2017.
Host
Ravi Agrawal
Editor in chief, Foreign Policy
Ravi Agrawal is the editor in chief of Foreign Policy, the host of FP Live, and a regular world affairs analyst on TV and radio. Before joining FP in 2018, Agrawal worked at CNN for more than a decade in full-time roles spanning three continents, including as the network’s New Delhi bureau chief and correspondent. He is the author of India Connected: How the Smartphone Is Transforming the World’s Largest Democracy.
Related
