UN Anniversary Wrap



(image via johnbatchelorshow)

Part the Third, in which The Russian President pretends that he is a statesman and not a tyrant. Power conversations prevail:

From Edith Lederer of AP via Seattle Post Intelligencer: "There was a whispered conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov, who holds absolute power in the natural gas-rich ex-Soviet republic. After the toast, Annan walked around the head table to clink glasses with the guests and stopped to chat with China's President Hu Jintao.

"Bush had asked that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono be seated next to him, presumably to get some 'face' time over lunch. Annan was on the other side. Putin, Hu, King Abdullah II of Jordan and South African President Thabo Mbeki were also at the head table - and there was a steady stream of visitors from other tables."



Face time with Spanish King Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon and Kofi Annan. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

According to the AP (via Foxnews): "The United Nations must shift its focus from just settling disputes to coordinating the world's fight against terrorism, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the second day of a U.N. summit Wednesday.

"Echoing remarks by Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush the day before, Putin told the U.N. General Assembly that terrorism was the primary threat to human rights and economic development.

"'There is a need to adjust this organization to the new historical reality,' Putin said. 'Who else will take the role of coordinating and organizing this work but the United Nations?'"

Isn't it fascinating how Machiavels always pepper their political discourses with the word "Reality," yet ... supply scant reasoning for this observation. But we digress: "Leaders from Israel, France, Venezuela and Afghanistan also were to address the General Assembly on Thursday, and Blair was to host a presentation on poverty reduction, attended by Nigerian President Olesegun Obasanjo and Irish rocker and anti-poverty campaigner Bob Geldof. A Korean Society dinner was to honor Bush and South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun."

Xinhuanet adds, curiously: "(Putin) said the United Nations and its Security Council must be the main center for coordinating international cooperation in this fight as well as the settlement of regional conflicts when terrorists and extremists are using religious, ethnic and social confrontation to attain their aim." Which, if you read between the lines, is in the national interest of Russia (They have allied themselves with China, because of the failed Bratislava talks and the European three's failure to include them in the Iran talks and have the veto powers to cockblock United States initiatives -- if we were to run them through the UN before acting unilaterally)

This, from AP writer Nick Wadhams (via Guardian):"... Bush's support for achieving development goals such as halving extreme poverty by 2015 - was welcomed by many leaders.

"Irish rocker Bob Geldof, who organized the Live Aid concerts and campaigns against poverty, said he was sitting in the General Assembly chamber with U.N. anti-poverty chief Jeffrey Sachs and they couldn't believe what they heard.

"'I think he's really throwing down the gauntlet. It's a very bold move,' Geldof said of Bush's trade tariff proposal, adding that he was impressed with the president's acknowledgment that terrorism 'comes from despair and lack of hope.'"

Reuters (via Alertnet) on the stalled road map for peace: "At a photo opportunity at the start of their meeting at the United Nations' World Summit, Bush said he looked forward to talking to Sharon about a return to the U.S.-backed peace 'road map' now that Israel had completed its pullout from Gaza.

"'Most of the conversation focused on Gaza and they (the Americans) believe that events in Gaza will dictate the future of the peace process,' Sharon, briefing reporters who traveled with him from Israel, said after the meeting.

"'They (the Americans) want progress on the road map but they realize there is no chance now,' Sharon said, calling Gaza a 'test case' for whether the Palestinian Authority can demonstrate it can control land it wants for a state.

"Bush's National Security Council spokesman Fred Jones confirmed Sharon told the president it was impossible to move forward on the plan until the Palestinians cracked down on armed groups."

Finally, this also from Edith Lederer:"When Putin arrived, he embraced Mbeki, Abdullah and Juan Carlos and shook hands with Yudhoyono. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon showed up 15 minutes late - just in time for the toasts - and was welcomed to his table by several African leaders."

So, now you know ..