UNITED NATIONS, September 27 /TASS/. The general political debate of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly ended at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday. More than 130 heads of state and government as well as dozens of foreign ministers took part in the major international forum that kicked off on September 20.
US President Barack Obama delivered a speech from the UN General Assembly rostrum on the first day. "The principles of open markets and accountable governance, of democracy and human rights and international law that we have forged remain the firmest foundation for human progress in this century," Obama said. The US leader also gave assessments and recommendations to other countries. "In a world that left the age of empire behind, we see Russia attempting to recover lost glory through force," the outgoing US president said about Russia. Obama whose term in office expires in January 2017 ended his speech with a call on all world leaders to be the co-workers with God. "This is what I believe: that all of us can be co-workers with God," the US president concluded.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov delivered his speech on September 23. He regretted that the ideas of mentorship, supremacy, exclusiveness and the realization of one's interests by any means to the detriment of building fair and equal interaction have struck root among the political elites of some Western countries. The Russian foreign minister recalled that this year would mark the 70th anniversary of the decisions of the Nuremburg Tribunal. He said it was impossible to use freedom of expression as a cover for appeasing radical movements that profess a Nazi ideology. Lavrov touched upon the situation in a number of countries, including Syria, and called for preventing a catastrophe in this Middle Eastern country, which has been conflict-stricken since 2011.
The situation in Syria dominated a UN Security Council ministerial meeting on September 21. Despite expectations, the meeting failed to pass a resolution in support of the Russia-US agreements on Syria because Washington had refused to publish their text. The aggravation of the situation in the country, including an air strike delivered by the US-led coalition at the Syrian troops in Deir ez-Zor on September 17 and an aid convoy attack in Aleppo province on September 19, also made the adoption of a resolution impossible.
Many other sessions, forums and conferences took place on the sidelines of the general political debate. The topics for discussion included refugee and migration problems; challenges in public health and other issues. The foreign ministers gathered to discuss the situation in Libya, Myanmar and the Palestinian-Israeli settlement.