All eyes will be on the US President when he delivers his maiden speech to world leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly in New York later today.
There is little doubt who is headlining this year’s meeting, James Reinl writes for Al Jazeera. “Diplomats have been heard chatting about Donald Trump’s arrival for weeks,” he says.
The President is expected to address a host of geopolitical concerns via a scripted teleprompter speech, but even so, his “pre-written spiels vary enormously,” says Reinl. So, what can we expect?
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The North Korean problem
Arriving at the UN headquarters yesterday, Trump told reporters: “As far as North Korea is concerned, I think that most of you know how I feel.”
Tough rhetoric akin to his previous “fire and fury” comments will come as no surprise to leaders, but most will be waiting to see if the President makes specific mention of possible military action.
“A lot of leaders are really very scared that the US could blunder into war pretty much by accident on the Korean Peninsula,” said Richard Gowan, from the European Council on Foreign Relations.
We will therefore hear “a chorus of voices both from Asia and beyond arguing that we still have to give talks a chance,” he told Voice of America.
The Iranian deal
The President has threatened to pull out of the landmark agreement with Tehran, describing it as the worst deal ever negotiated, but is more likely to announce plans to weaken it, says CNN.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani yesterday warned that the US will pay a “high cost” if it walks away from the deal.
Whether Trump will follow through on his threats to repudiate it and risk isolation remains to be seen, says The New York Times.
Western diplomats “have expressed worry about the administration’s hostility to the accord, saying that it could create [even] more nuclear uncertainty,” the newspaper reports.
Climate change
World leaders will be hoping for some clarity on America’s position on the Paris deal. The Trump administration has sent out mixed messages about the accord over the last few days, with some senior officials suggesting that the US may not withdraw from the climate change deal after all.
That prompted a “firm pushback from the White House which insisted its stance was unchanged - only for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to assert a day later that the US was studying ways to cooperate with other countries,” says AFP.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was among those holding out hope for a change of heart, the agency reports.
“We take note of President Trump’s statements on not respecting it, but for the moment no action has been taken and we can still hope to persuade him,” he said.
