UN General Assembly updates: Zelenskyy, Pezeshkian address world leaders

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• Numerous foreign leaders addressed the United Nations General Assembly on the second day of the high-level UN General Debate, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
• Zelenskyy began his speech by referencing a social media post in which Trump called for the Ukraine war to end. He ended his address by thanking the countries that “stand with us”.
• Milei took aim at the UK over the Falkland Islands, reiterated his support for Israel and said his government had designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation.
• Pezeshkian said Iranians “have been the victims of terrorism”, citing the supreme leader’s assassination and the US attack on Minab primary school. He held up photos of the victims and ended his speech by addressing Trump, saying, “We will never bow our head, or bend the knee.”
• Al-Sharaa delivered his remarks in about 10 minutes, well under the 15-minute allotted slot and considerably shorter than other speakers. He struck an optimistic note, touting what he views as Syria’s recent domestic accomplishments, saying the country has transformed “from a crisis to an opportunity” under his leadership. However, he warned that any attempts to violate Syria’s sovereignty and international law “will be stopped”.

The UK government has said there is “no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands” after Argentina’s President Javier Milei, speaking to the UN General Assembly earlier today, called British-backed plans to extract oil from the island waters “illegal and illegitimate”.

Britain has administered the Falkland Islands since 1833, but Argentina has long claimed sovereignty. In 2013, Falkland Islanders overwhelmingly voted in a referendum to remain a British overseas territory.

A statement released by the UK’s mission to the United Nations cited this referendum, saying, “there can be no dialogue on sovereignty unless the Falkland Islanders so wish”.

The statement said the UK has “no doubt” about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and surrounding waters. It also said Argentina’s calls for sovereignty negotiations over the territory “do not modify or dilute the obligations of nations to respect the legally binding right of self-determination”.

During Milei’s address, he reiterated his country’s stance that the “principle of self-determination does not apply” to the islands as the “population was implanted by the occupying power on a territory whose sovereignty is in dispute”.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to address the UN General Assembly by video tomorrow after Washington denied him a visa to travel to New York for a second consecutive year.

The General Assembly voted 152-3, with four abstentions, to let Abbas speak remotely using the same mechanism employed last year. The US has extended visa restrictions on Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) officials, saying the move is linked to Palestinian moves at the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice.

Leaders due to speak Thursday morning include Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa, Ghana’s John Mahama, Somalia’s Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Sudan’s Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and European Council President Antonio Costa.

In the afternoon session, Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah, Barbadoss Mia Mottley and Australia’s Anthony Albanese are among those scheduled to address the assembly.

Mahmoud Abbas last spoke to the assembly in person in 2024. Several US allies, including France, the UK, Canada and Australia, have recognised a Palestinian state this year, deepening tensions between Washington and the Palestinian leadership.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said 51 countries expressed support for Ukraine at the United Nations General Assembly and renewed calls for Russia to agree to a ceasefire.

“[Fifty-one] countries are united today in our support for Ukraine at the UN General Assembly,” Kallas wrote on X.

She said Ukraine has been ready for a truce since March 2025. “Ukraine has agreed to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire. We call on Russia to finally do the same,” she said.

“Ukraine wants peace. We want peace,” Kallas said, calling on Russia to “stop its aggression, accept a ceasefire and engage meaningfully in negotiations towards a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in accordance with international law”.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the EU will be a “reliable partner” for Syria after meeting with Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

“The EU remains a reliable partner for a peaceful, stable and inclusive transition in Syria, free from harmful foreign interference,” said von der Leyen.

She said the EU is working towards Syria’s reconstruction and for the safe, voluntary return of refugees.

“As next steps, we aim to mobilise more investment and upgrade our partnership,” she added.

Earlier in his address to the UN General Assembly, al-Sharaa said Syria has “moved from crisis to opportunity”, with advances in rebuilding its institutions, pursuing transitional justice and developing international partnerships.

Ukraine and Finland have signed a drone agreement that Finland’s President Alexander Stubb says will enable the “joint production of defence materiel”.

“Defence sector companies in Finland are ready, and the joint effort can now get fully under way,” said Stubb in a social media post after he met Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Zelenskyy called the drone deal “an important step for the joint protection of our people” and said he and Stubb also discussed an aid package for Ukraine before the winter, as well as efforts to protect Ukraine’s energy sector “from Russian attacks”.

“We are working to maximally strengthen air defense ahead of the start of winter and deprive Russia of its bet on ballistic terror,” said Zelenskyy in a social media post.

US ⁠Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met ⁠with Indian ⁠External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New ‌York.

According to a statement issued by the State Department, the two discussed sanctions that could be levelled against countries that ⁠engage economically with Russia and ⁠Iran.

Pascal Confavreux, spokesperson for France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke to Al Jazeera at the UN General Assembly.

Some highlights:

• Confavreux said recognition of Palestinian statehood helped secure the ceasefire, but humanitarian aid “has to enter fully” and “the acceleration of colonisation in the West Bank has to stop.”
• France recently joined the UK, Canada and nine other countries in banning imports from illegal West Bank settlements. “It’s not enough, and there is still a lot of things to do,” he said.
• Regarding trade with Israel, he said trade is decided at the European Union level, where “so far, the majority is not achieved.”
• On Ukraine, he described “a very isolated Russia” and “a very united Europe”, adding that “Russia is not really ready to go to peace talks.”
• France is chairing a UN Security Council meeting with the heads of OpenAI, Anthropic and Hugging Face, because “the pace of advancements of artificial intelligence can raise a problem of peace and international security.”

Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani has met with the US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Yehuda Kaploun, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, according to the Syrian Foreign Ministry.

The meeting covered numerous “issues of mutual interest” along with ways to “enhance dialogue and communication”, the ministry said.

Zelenskyy has ended his UN General Assembly remarks.

• He began his speech by referencing a social media post in which Trump called for the Ukraine war to end, saying only Putin wants this war.
• He claimed Putin seeks to seize Ukrainian territory beyond the eastern Donetsk region, but “will fail”.
• Zelenskyy said that North Korean troops are being sent to Russia to support the weak points of the Russian army.
• He said Putin is responsible for starting the largest war in Europe since World War II and will cause more bloodshed if he is not opposed.
• He called for slowing down the rapid development of weapons that use artificial intelligence, warning that they have already become a global threat.
• Ukraine needs both diplomacy and strength in its fight against Russia, he said, adding that “step by step, we are closing the gaps in both.”
• He said he wants to meet China’s President Xi Jinping.
• He condemned the weakening of sanctions and called for Russia’s revenues to “remain a target”.
• For the first time in Russia’s history, its oil industry is running on “fumes”, he said.

Zelenskyy ended his address by thanking the countries that “stand with us”.

“Ukraine deserves security just as all of you do – every country and every nation,” the Ukrainian president said.

“Do not be the last to join those who defend life,” he continued. “Be the first to say we guarantee security.”

“Thank you to everyone who helps and thank you to everyone who stands with us [and] with our people, with our children, with Ukraine,” he concluded.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine has information that citizens of 47 countries have joined Russia’s war against Ukraine, many having been victims of what he called Moscow’s “deception and tricks”.

In addition to North Korea, those countries include Nepal, Tajikistan, India, Yemen, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Belarus, Sudan and South Africa, said Zelenskyy, adding that some have “died on the battlefield”.

“I want to speak directly to every representative of these 47 countries,” Zelenskyy said. “You know what Russia is doing with your people. Take care of them and do not let them end up on another front.”

“Do not let Putin drag you into this war,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy has called for slowing down the rapid development of weapons that use artificial intelligence, warning they have already become a global threat.

“We need to slow it down before we reach the next stage because as early as next year, there is already a real possibility that AI – not only people – will begin deciding what happens on the battlefield.”

He called for peace “before we reach that point”.

The Ukrainian president has said Putin is responsible for starting the largest war in Europe since World War II and will cause more bloodshed if he is not opposed.

The longer the Russian president is able to wage war, “the more evil he will leave behind in this world”, claimed Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy says Ukraine needs both diplomacy and strength in its fight against Russia, saying that “step by step, we are closing the gaps in both”.

He also expressed a desire to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping.

“We have not had a chance to speak directly with the leader of China, who is in America today, but not here,” Zelenskyy said. “And he is someone who can influence Russia more than many others can, and we would like him to want peace as much as we do in Ukraine.”

“Our soldiers have already successfully tested four new jet-powered interceptor drones”, the Ukrainian president tells the UNGA, adding, “We are scaling up production.”

He then spoke about Freya, a Ukrainian-designed anti-ballistic programme which he said involved 10 countries: Ukraine, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands.

“Last week, I invited Poland to join, and we are also in consultations with a couple of other allied governments who want to join Freya, and we remain open to every country that can contribute to building protection against ballistic missiles,” said Zelenskyy.