TRUMP, XI AGREE ON ‘MORE PRESSURE’ ON N. KOREA
United Nations, Sept. 18: US President Donald Trump on Monday warned ‘bureaucracy’ is holding the United Nations back, a barbed message during his first appearance at an institution he once derided as a talking shop.
Kicking off a frantic week of diplomacy with a panel discussion on UN reform, Mr Trump noted a personal history with the New York-based institution.
He had seen ‘great potential right across the street’ from UN headquarters, Mr Trump said, referencing his nearby 72-floor residential skyscraper Trump World Tower.
“To be honest with you, and it was only for the reason that the United Nations was here that that turned out to be such a successful project,” the businessman-turnedpresident told delegates.
But Mr Trump also warned that the United States — a founding member of the UN and its biggest financial contributor — wanted a better return on its investment.
“The United Nations was founded on truly noble goals” he said, adding that while progress has been made “in recent years the UN has not reached its full potential, because of bureaucracy and mismanagement.” “While the United Nations on a regular budget has increased by 140 pe rcent, and its staff has more than doubled since 2000, we are not seeing the results in line with this investment.”
He called on the institution to “focus on results,” a call that was echoed by UN secretary general Antonio Guterres. United Nations: US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping committed to “maximising pressure on North Korea”, the White House said Monday, amid an escalating crisis over Pyongyang’s ballistic and nuclear weapons programs.
In a phone call the two men discussed “North Korea’s continued defiance of the international community and its efforts to destabilise Northeast Asia,” the White House said.
“The two leaders committed to maximising pressure on North Korea through vigorous enforcement of United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
Meanwhile, before the United Nations began, France on Monday warned that salvaging the Iran nuclear deal was ‘essential’ to prevent other countries from seeking nuclear weapons as world leaders gathered at the United Nations.
Foreign Minister JeanYves Le Drian also told reporters pressure from sanctions — and not military action — was the only way to address the crisis over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests.
“It’s essential to maintain (the agreement) to prevent a spiral of proliferation that would encourage hardliners in Iran to pursue nuclear weapons,” Le Drian said.
The foreign minister said scrapping the 2015 deal would begin an arms race with other countries that would feel encouraged to head into the same direction.