UNITED NATIONS, September 23. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump’s speech at the General Debate of the UN General Assembly’s 80th session lasted nearly an hour, exceeding the recommended speaking time by almost fourfold. Although each delegation is strongly advised to limit their remarks to 15 minutes due to the large number of speakers - 193 in total - Trump’s address stretched to about 57 minutes. The limit is not mandatory but helps ensure that all voices are heard during the six days of debate.

In his remarks, Trump declared that the world has entered "one of the greatest crises in its history" and placed blame on the United Nations for failing to resolve international challenges. He also emphasized his role in addressing the conflict in Ukraine. Below are the key points from his speech, compiled by TASS.

World in crisis

Six years ago, the world was thriving, but now it has entered one of the greatest crises: "Since that day, the guns of war have shattered the peace I forged on two continents, an era of calm and stability gave way to one of the great crises of our time."

He identified nuclear weapons as the most severe danger: "There is no more serious danger to our planet today than the most powerful and destructive weapons ever devised by man, of which the United States, as you know, has many."

The US, he said, intends to take the lead in strengthening compliance with the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC): "Hopefully, the UN can play a constructive role."

Accusations against the UN

Trump criticized the UN for its ineffectiveness in resolving global conflicts, including Ukraine: "Sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help. In any of them - I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help in finalizing the deal. All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up stopped right in the middle."

He also condemned what he described as wasteful spending in the UN: "They had massive cost overruns and spent between $2 and 4 billion on the building. <...> Unfortunately, many things in the United Nations are happening just like that, but on an even much bigger scale."

Ukrainian settlement

Trump acknowledged US efforts in the Ukrainian conflict but admitted the process has been harder than anticipated: "I thought that would be the easiest [conflict to settle] because of my relationship with President Putin, which had always been a good one. I thought that was going to be the easiest one. But you know, in war, you never know what's going to happen. There are always lots of surprises, both good and bad."

He accused several nations of indirectly fueling the conflict: "China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil, but inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off much Russian energy and Russian energy products."

Tariffs on Russian oil

Trump warned that the US is ready to impose tariffs if Russia does not agree to a settlement: "In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs, which would stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly. But for those tariffs to be effective, European nations <...> would have to join us in adopting the exact same measures."

He added that he would be raising the matter with European officials: "They have to immediately cease all energy purchases from Russia. Otherwise, we're all wasting a lot of time. So I'm ready to discuss this. We're going to discuss it today with the European nations all gathered here.".