Representatives of nearly 40 countries made their statements from the UN rostrum on the second day of the debates, BTA reported.
„Peace depends on all of us“
The key was the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who, as expected, focused most on the war in Ukraine. „Peace depends on all of us, on all of you, on the United Nations, Zelensky said from the rostrum. „It's up to you whether you will help achieve peace or continue to trade with Russia,“ he added.
For about 30 minutes, the Ukrainian leader spoke on topics mostly related to security and peace in the world. Much of his speech was related to the global arms race.
“International law only works when the majority of our allies are truly ready to defend it. And even then, it does not work without weapons“, he said.
Syria's first statement at the General Assembly since 1967.
Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa made his first speech to the UN General Assembly. His speech was entirely devoted to the situation in his country, the change of power and the 14-year civil war in Syria. Our people suffered oppression, tyranny and deprivation for many years until they rose up to demand freedom and dignity“, the Syrian leader emphasized. “We triumphed in the name of all of you, in the name of the whole world. We triumphed for the future of our children and yours,” Ash Sharaa said.
Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian told the United Nations that his country does not intend to develop nuclear weapons. "I reiterate to this assembly that Iran neither intends nor will it ever intend to develop an atomic bomb. We do not need nuclear weapons," Massoud Pezeshkian said.
Topics like Charlie Kirk's murder also found a place at the UN
The reaction to the murder of Charlie Kirk touched another group of people this week: world leaders gathered at the United Nations. Two weeks after Kirk was shot dead in Utah, several world leaders gathered this week at the United Nations General Assembly spoke out about the conservative activist's killing.
Condemning the "sick joy of a crime committed against an innocent person," Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told the assembled leaders that the reaction to Kirk's death was "the best confirmation of that." Zelensky also previously mentioned Kirk, as well as the death of Ukrainian refugee Irina Zarutska, who was stabbed to death last month, as representative of “attacks that are happening all over the world“.
Humanitarian aid for Gaza
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that his country would follow Italy's example and also send a warship to protect the international flotilla trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza after it was attacked off the coast of Greece by drones.
Sanchez said at a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session that citizens of 45 countries are on board the flotilla's vessels, who want to deliver food to the Palestinian enclave and show their solidarity with its residents.
Bulgaria's participation in the international scene
Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov gave a briefing for Bulgarian media in New York. Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev and Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov also participated in it.
Zhelyazkov spoke mainly on the topic of gas supplies to Bulgaria. Before that, he had a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Zhelyazkov stressed that there is potential for "increasing gas supplies from Azerbaijan, with other countries involved in this process, for example, Bulgaria's neighboring countries, and in this way our country becomes an important corridor." It is for this reason that "we are paying special attention to the construction of the relevant infrastructure", Zhelyazkov also stated.
For his part, the Minister of Energy explained that last week an agreement was signed with the US to assist in the development of small modular reactor sites in Bulgaria.
"This is a modern technology that attracts investments in the field of databases and artificial intelligence in Bulgaria", he said. "It is normal for the next step on the Bulgarian side to be the initiation of talks with companies for the development of such technologies", Stankov added.
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev told Bulgarian media that the quadrilateral B-4 format between Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Croatia should be maintained and developed. He made the statement after a meeting with the foreign ministers of the three countries.
“We discussed important common issues, common challenges - military mobility, east-west corridors, the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU, issues related to security and defense“, said Georgiev. In addition to this meeting, Georgiev hosted a working lunch for the foreign ministers of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP).
In his address to his SEECP colleagues during the working lunch, the minister said: “We are gathering at a key moment, when Sofia's presidency coincides with preparations for the 30th anniversary of the SEECP in 2026” “Even in difficult times, it promotes unity, security, stability and meaningful partnerships,” he said.