UNITED NATIONS, September 20. /TASS/. The High-Level Week of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly opens in New York on Tuesday.

Presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers from all over the world will address the international organization, with pressing issues of today to be discussed at dozens of bilateral and multilateral meetings. The agenda will, among other things, include the fight against the coronavirus and other infections, climate change, the debt burden of developing and the poorest countries, the food crisis as well as disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation.

According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the upcoming session will be a test for the international system.

List of participants

Heads of state from 92 countries, including Venezuela, Iran, Turkey, France and the United States, will be speakers at the High-Level Week. Vice-presidents will represent four countries and heads of government - 61 countries. A number of countries will be represented by deputy premiers and foreign ministers.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to give a speech on September 24, the very day when the Chinese delegation led by the country’s deputy prime minister will address the session.

The speeches by a number of leaders were pushed back over their participation in the funeral service for British Queen Elizabeth II. Great Britain’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to address the UN General Assembly late on September 22, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz should speak on September 23.

On September 16, the UN General Assembly voted to allow Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to make a video address, but the others who sought the same were denied such a privilege. Under the document, Zelensky will address the UNGA with a prerecorded video. Russia, Belarus, North Korean, Cuba, Nicaragua, Syria and Eritrea voted against the initiative. Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said the West had intended to demonstrate Russia’s "isolation" in the vote, but it failed.

Sideline sessions

The Group of Friend in Defense of the UN Charter will convene a meeting on the sidelines on the session. The group comprises Algeria, Angola, Belarus, Bolivia, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Nicaragua, North Korea, the State of Palestine, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Syria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.

The US, the EU, and the African Union will chair a global food security summit on September 20, and on September 21, the UN chief will host an informal leaders’ roundtable on climate action.

The situation in Ukraine will be discussed at a ministerial-level UN Security Council meeting on September 22.

On September 23, a high-level event on fighting the pandemic will be held.

Crises

Moscow’s UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya told TASS in an interview that, through the efforts of the West, Ukraine was brought to the forefront, the fact noticed by other delegations, primarily from emerging countries.

The Russian envoy urged the United Nations not to prioritize some crises while ignoring others.

Commenting on the use of Moscow’s right of veto, Nebenzya said Russia would not give it to protect the core interests of the country and its allies.

Cooperation with Russia

According to Nebenzya, the Western-led crusade to isolate Russia at various venues, including at the UN, is failing. He said the number of requests for bilateral meetings with Lavrov on the sidelines of the UNGA had not diminished.

Russia’s top diplomat is also expected to attend a range of multilateral meetings. Specifically, work is underway to arrange his meetings with the CSTO, BRICS, the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter, and there have been requests from a number of regional organizations of which Russia is not a member as well as invitations to UN-hosted events, Nebenzya said.

The President of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Korosi, said in an interview with TASS that the international organization needed cooperation with Russia to solve issues of everybody’s interest. According to him, Russia should take part in efforts to enhance the international system of cooperation.