UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Latest on the U.N. General Assembly’s annual gathering of world leaders (all times local):
10:30 a.m.
Iraqi President Barham Saleh says he will not let his country become a battlefield for other countries’ conflicts to play out.
Iraq is squeezed between the two powerful rivals in the region, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Some have questioned whether attacks earlier this month on Saudi Arabian oil installations could have been launched from Iraq. Iraq has denied that.
Saleh told the United Nations General Assembly gathering Wednesday: “Iraq will not be a launching pad for aggression against any of our neighboring countries.”
He called the attacks in Saudi Arabia a dangerous development.
Saleh bemoaned that Iraq has long been unstable but struck a positive note, saying his country was emerging from years of conflict and looking toward economic development.
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9:30 a.m.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made no mention of the American scandal swirling around him in his first-ever address before the U.N. General Assembly, choosing instead to focus on the horrors of war and his country’s ongoing conflict with Russia.
His speech Wednesday came less than day after a formal U.S. House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump was launched, a development that was sparked partly by a July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelenskiy.
At issue is whether Trump abused his presidential powers and sought help from Ukraine to undermine Democratic foe Joe Biden and help his own re-election.
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8:40 a.m.
The man at the center of America’s latest political storm kicks off the second day of speeches Wednesday at this year’s gathering of world leaders.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s first-ever address before the world body comes a mere few hours after a formal U.S. House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump was launched — a development that was sparked partly by a July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelenskiy.
At issue is whether Trump abused his presidential powers and sought help from Ukraine to undermine Democratic foe Joe Biden and help his own re-election.
In the days before the call, Trump ordered advisers to freeze $400 million in military aid for Ukraine, prompting speculation that he was holding up the money as leverage for information on the Bidens.
Trump has denied that charge but acknowledged he blocked the funds.
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12:10 a.m.
With tensions high in the Persian Gulf, all eyes will be on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on as he speaks on the second day of the U.N. General Assembly’s annual gathering of world leaders.
In another highly anticipated spee, Ukraine’s freshly minted president will address the group for the first time as a fast-escalating scandal involving U.S. President Donald Trump swirls around him.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s speech comes just a day after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi launched a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump, focused partly on whether Trump abused his presidential powers and sought help from Ukraine to undermine Democratic foe Joe Biden and help his own re-election.
Many of the world’s leaders have used their speeches so far to defend the multilateralism embodied by the United Nations.