A newsletter from POLITICO that unpacks essential global news, trends, and decisions.
A newsletter from POLITICO that unpacks essential global news, trends, and decisions.
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By RYAN HEATH and SUZANNE LYNCH
Presented by Philip Morris International
Follow Ryan on Twitter | Follow Suzanne
Good morning from New York, where it’s Day 4 of the U.N. General Assembly high-level week. There is only one show in town today, and that’s the U.N. Security Council meeting that kicks off at 10 a.m. For the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some of the key players in the conflict will come to face-to-face around the famous horseshoe-shaped Security Council table.
Fourteen of the 15 members, only one will be represented by their ministers (Kenya is in the process of forming a government)
That means U.S. Secretary of State AntonyBlinken, Russian Foreign Minister SergeyLavrov and Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba will attend the meeting (in keeping with Security Council policy, countries that are the subject of discussion can attend). The EU’s foreign policy chief JosepBorrell will also address the council.
“Arguably the most significant Security Council meeting of our time,” was how Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney described it, referring to Ireland’s 20-month stint as a non-permanent member of the council. “I think it will be a very abrasive meeting.”
IRONY ALERT: It says something about the U.N. that the biggest debate of the week is not taking place in the General Assembly, but at the Security Council — even though the absurdity of the current structure of the Security Council means that no substantive decisions will be taken. (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the U.N. to deprive Russia of its Security Council veto in his video address to the General Assembly last night.)
KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON:
Reaction to Putin’s speech announcing a partial mobilization of troops dominated discussion Wednesday.
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told Playbook: “It is an escalation, there’s no other way to put it. But what is needed from us is the old British war saying, 'keep calm and carry on.' He wants us to be afraid, we wants to instill fear because that’s the last weapon in his arsenal. ... We have managed to prove that the policies of support for Ukraine have worked and I think that this is the point that we have to calmly say that we will carry on.”
ALSO TODAY: Zelenskyy also called for a special war crimes tribunal in his address to UNGA Wednesday. Later today, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany are hosting an event to look at the issue of war crime accountability. Also expected? Human Rights lawyer Amal Clooney.
PODCAST — TO RUSSIA WITHOUT LOVE
Global Insider spoke to Werner Hoyer, president of the European Investment Bank, and Urmas Reinsalu, Estonia's foreign minister, who come from different perspectives but have clear views on necessary actions to support Ukraine and share a common level of concern.
INTERVIEW — NORWAY’S PM JONAS GAHR STØRE
THE TURBULENT POLITICS OF ENERGY PRICE CAPS: Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre says his country is open to the previously unthinkable step of imposing price caps on gas to rein in Europe’s energy crisis.
As political leaders, activists and philanthropists piled on the pressure Wednesday to act to limit climate change at U.N. General Assembly events, Støre told POLITICO that “no solution should be off the table," when asked about a push by some European governments for gas price caps.
"No proposal, no idea" is off limits, he said in an interview with Ryan, adding "we really have to work on this together." His advisers are not sure, and spent Wednesday afternoon furiously seeking to downplay those comments.
To be clear, price caps aren’t Støre’s preferred policy: As a social democrat, he’d rather focus his efforts on redistribution mechanisms like tax credits or other subsidies. While many European governments support a price cap — including Italy, Poland Belgium, Greece and Sweden — some governments, like Germany, have concerns. With gas in short supply and high demand, some exporters may be tempted to send their gas to other parts of the world.
Støre sees Europe’s energy crisis as the key plank of what he called Putin’s “energy war in Europe” — and he’s not happy about it, even as high prices drive up Norway’s tax revenues (oil and gas companies pay a 78 percent tax to the Norwegian treasury).
“These are our allies and partners. We are not served by their economies being rocked,” he added. But he’s determined to push on with Norway’s green transition, and for that to provide a template to other countries looking to go green.
Accessible greenery: For now, a speedy green transition is unaffordable in many parts of the world. A new Global Leadership Council co-chaired by Støre and Rockefeller Foundation President Rajiv Shah, aims to change that.
“Six billion people live in energy poverty, and as long as they are energy poor, that will be a major stumbling block for us moving forward on climate,” Støre said.
The council met for the first time Wednesday and is part of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. More from Ryan here.
A message from Philip Morris International:
Everyone wants a world without cigarettes—but it will take our collective action. Philip Morris International is doing its part to end smoking by developing better smoke-free alternatives that have already helped millions of adult smokers move away from cigarettes. Now, we need others to step up too. Learn how.
WINNING ON THE PR BATTLEFIELD
WHOSE WAR IS IT ANYWAY? Ukraine’s war is one of the big themes at this year’s UNGA — but are all wars created equal?
Since the Russian invasion in February, many countries, particularly in Africa, have made the point that the world only gets interested when war happens on the European continent, despite conflicts taking place elsewhere all the time
Multiple officials who spoke to POLITICO said that countering Russian disinformation about who is to blame for the Ukraine is a key priority for Europe and its U.S.-led allies this week in New York.
Reminder: Only 141 countries of the U.N.’s 193 members voted in favor of a resolution in March demanding that Russia immediately end its military operations in Ukraine.
It remains to be seen whether Joe Biden's blunt assessment of the war in his speech Wednesday — “This war is about distinguishing Ukraine’s right to exist as a state … Ukraine’s right to exist as a people. ... That should make your blood run cold” — will convince wavering states.
Too little too late? Part of the problem is that African countries feel Western investments don't deliver. The EU’s Global Gateway initiative, a massive investment project announced as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road infrastructure program, has yet to show results. And unlike Chinese investment, which has few strings attached, the EU puts in place requirements in terms of goals, like climate change commitments, in order to get the cash.
Not just Africa: But others in New York this week are trying to get the message out that the Ukraine conflict is not just a local war, but rather a seismic geopolitical event that is having ramifications across the world — hence the emphasis here on the global food crisis.
Spillover effect: Jose W. Fernandez, the U.S. under secretary of state for economic growth and energy, noted the spillover effects of the war in Ukraine on countries like Guatemala and other Latin America countries at an Atlantic Council lunch earlier this week. After the coronavirus pandemic, the food crisis now means “countries that were weak to begin with were weakened,” Fernandez said. He also highlighted a startling fact — almost 270 million people in Latin America are food insecure.
Global perspectives: Shows of solidarity with Ukraine are not just confined to G7 or NATO countries. Guatemala’s Foreign Minister Mario Búcaro visited Ukraine in July — and he said it was about showing what side of history Guatemala is on, though most Latin American countries have not taken a vocal stance on the Ukraine war.
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INTERVIEW — ALVARO LARIO, INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
Lario will take control of the U.N. specialized agency Oct. 1, at a time when the Gates Foundation says that increasing fundamental agriculture research is the single best investment toward reaching the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals on time in 2030. But every three years IFAD has to beg for its coffers to be refilled, and they rely on governments that are better at talk than action.
Funding failures fueled creativity: “We have been saying for 45 years that we cannot drift from crisis to crisis, but there are a number of government commitments that did not materialize for us.
“We received a credit rating (AA+) in 2021. We are already now a financial institution — issuing bonds, for example to Swedish pension funds. We should create new mechanism for financing, and new partnerships. That’s the way to channel private sector investments to the world’s rural poor.”
No escape for Global North: “We have to understand that the global north has produced 92 percent of total emissions and low income countries are highly indebted. There is a real link between climate and food and poverty. If we don’t invest now in food security, countries in regions like the Sahel are going to suffer, and the consequences are going to be more conflict, terrorism, migration.”
Food security is national security: “After meeting with dozens of African heads of state and government, it’s clear that food security is a national security issue."
Covid lessons: “We need more local production of fertilizers. Some fertilizers are made in Africa, but they are usually exported under long-term contracts,” making it hard to redirect resources for domestic use during crisis, Lario said.
A message from Philip Morris International:
THE REAL UNGA MACHINE: The U.N. couldn’t function without interpreters. SecState Blinken paid tribute to them. Video.
WHAT ENERGY CRISIS? There’s a lot of talk this week about solidarity between the EU and the United States, but on one issue the allies remain miles apart — air-conditioning.
EU officials can’t understand it — and, given heir own draconian moves to limit energy consumption or risk going without heating this winter, three officials told POLITICO they disapprove of it.
The American view: What’s wrong with solar-powered AC — and what fool would try to survive a New York summer without it?
TRUMP GATECRASHES U.N.: Back in 2019, then-President Donald Trump’s UNGA address was overshadowed by the announcement in Washington that the House of Representatives was moving to impeach him. Three years later, Trump gatecrashed the party again — this time virtually.
Minutes after Biden finished speaking Wednesday, news networks cut to a press conference happening on the other side of town by New York Attorney General Tish James announcing a bombshell legal case against the former president and his children. When it comes to Trump, whose eponymous World Tower looms across the street from U.N. Headquarters, there’s just no escape.
TRUSS’ BUMPY LANDING: Brand-new British Prime Minister Liz Truss is back in London today after her first foray onto the international stage, but as our colleague Esther Webber reports, it’s not clear how many people took notice.
Truss’ main address at UNGA was delivered to a sparsely populated hall at the very end of a 12-hour day of speeches in which Biden and Ukraine’s Zelenskyy had also spoken. Biden even hosted a leaders’ reception at a museum across town that started just ahead of Truss’ speech. The traveling British press pack had also gone home by the time she spoke in order to report on an impending economic announcement and not many others seemed to want to stick around.
Cold comfort: A State Department official told Playbook they were impressed by Truss’ ability to ham it up for media. The official was particularly impressed by a Sky News interview Truss conducted from the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building.
FUNDING FALLS SHORT: Governments, businesses and foundations pledged $14.2 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria at a fundraising event hosted by the U.S. on Wednesday — but that’s short of the fund’s $18 billion goal. As POLITICO’s Carmen Paun reports, that figure could still rise because the U.K. and Italy said they will announce their pledges over the next few weeks.
DIAMONDS — FOR GALAS AND GEOPOLITICS: Botswana President His Excellency Mokgweetsi E. K. Masisi is hosting a diamond-themed gala tonight in Manhattan, with two goals in mind. First: explain how Botswana plans to revolutionize diamond trading with blockchain ledgers that demonstrate the provenance of a diamond, adding to its value (much as you pay more for wine from an excellent wine-growing region and skilled winemakers).
The second goal: rally support for Botswana’s bid to defeat China in a race to host the headquarters of the Kimberley Process, the worldwide effort to eliminate conflict diamonds from global trade. Masisi told POLITICO that he sees his diamond mission as a core part of Botswana’s foreign policy: “We are resolute. We want maximum value from what is ours” and “we want to spread this approach to other sectors and other countries.” Masisi said learned the hard way — when his family was removed from their land to allow diamond mining — about mining practices and policies that don’t put people first.
SPOTTED: The Plaza Hotel was VIP central on Wednesday as Mike Bloomberg and Sesame Street’s Oscar the Grouch headlined The Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Matt Damon, Her Majesty Queen Rania al Abdullah, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Bill Gates, Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, Christiana Figueres, Sam Waterston, Earthshot CEO Hannah Jones, Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. of Hip Hop Caucus, and 2022 National Youth Poet Laureate Alyssa Gaines. Check out the video remarks from Prince William, who invoked Queen Elizabeth II to rally the crowd: “Protecting the environment was a cause close to my grandmother's heart,” he said.
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— Be careful who you chat to at the coffee pot: POLITICO’s Ryan Heath stumbled in late, and in need of coffee, to an event about transparency in diamond supply chains Wednesday. Not knowing anyone, he began chatting to three people closest to the coffee, who were from Botswana. After peppering the small talk with the lone piece of Botswana trivia he knew, Ryan’s new friends subjected him to a pop quiz on the country, which he failed miserably.
What brings you to UNGA, Ryan eventually asked: “I’m the first lady,” replied the first guest.
“And you, sir?” … “I’m the foreign minister.”
The third guest jumped in to announce himself as the ambassador.
“I guess I’m buying you lunch then,” Ryan squeaked.
— When you fly commercial … The Aer Lingus plane carrying Irish leader Micheál Martin was forced to return to Ireland while it was somewhere over the Atlantic on the way to New York, due to a bird strike: The prime minister got on a later flight, but not in time to attend Biden’s reception with leaders in the evening, though foreign minister Simon Coveney did manage to meet Biden and exchange words about the Northern Ireland protocol.
— When yoursmartphone no longer recognizes your tired face and won’t unlock.
— Whenmosquitoes attack … Yes, New York is full of them this balmy September (our reporters have the bites to prove it).
— When you try to dash past a gaggle of diplomats greeting each other on the sidewalk outside HQ and they all try to shake your hand too, thinking you’re one of them.
PHOTO OF THE DAY 1: Russian Foreign Minister SergeyLavrovreminding the world who his friends are ahead of today’s Security Council meeting, posing alongside Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
PHOTO OF THE DAY 2: French President EmmanuelMacroncongratulating newlyweds on the streets of Manhattan. h/t AP.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “He’s definitely angry,” said U.N. head of communications Melissa Fleming of the international body’s Secretary-General António Guterres. “The survival of our humanity and our planet is at stake.” Fleming was speaking at Microsoft’s U.N. liaison office Wednesday evening.
— General Assembly debate. Speakers include: Israeli PM YairLapid, Norway’s PM Jonas Gahr Støre, Portugal’s AntónioCosta, Armenia’s NikolPashinyan, Ireland’s Micheál Martin, and Spain’s PedroSánchez. 9 a.m.
— U.N. Security Council meeting, 10 a.m.
— Ministerial Meeting of the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee on Palestine, chaired by Norway; attended by EU foreign policy chief JosepBorrell.
— EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
— Second Ministerial Summit for Information and Democracy, hosted by France, 5 p.m.
— Dinner of the Transatlantic Foreign Ministers, hosted by U.S. SecState Blinken.
—Goals House, which hosts a Climate Nightcap tonight, at Tavern on the Green.
THANKS TO: Clea Caulcutt, Esther Webber, Cristina Gonzalez, Nahal Toosi, our editors Emma Anderson, James Randerson, Ben Pauker and producer Raymond Rapada.
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A message from Philip Morris International:
Everyone wants a world without cigarettes—but it will take our collective action. Philip Morris International is doing its part to end smoking by developing better smoke-free alternatives that have already helped millions of adult smokers move away from cigarettes. Now, we need others to step up too. It’s not enough to wait for smokers to stop on their own. We have to do everything possible to help those adults who would otherwise continue smoking move away from cigarettes for good. Join us.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of Global Insider misstated the status of the International Fund for Agricultural Development's credit rating. The organization received a credit rating in 2021.