NEW YORK: United States President Joe Biden on Tuesday has asserted that a sovereign and democratic Palestinian state was the “best way” to ensure Israel’s future.
“We must seek a future of greater peace and security for all people of the Middle East,” Biden said at his first United Nations address. “The US commitment to Israel’s security is without question and our support for an independent Jewish state is unequivocal,” he added.
However, he said, “I continue to believe that a two-state solution is the best way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish democratic state, living in peace alongside a viable, sovereign and democratic Palestinian state.”
Biden also mapped out a new era of vigorous competition without cold war, promising restraint from the US military and new commitments to cope with climate change. “The US would help resolve crises from Iran to the Korean Peninsula to Ethiopia”, Biden added.
“The world faces a decisive decade,” he said, adding that the leaders need to work together to fight a raging coronavirus pandemic, a warming planet and cyber threats. He said the United States would double its financial commitment on climate aid and spend $10 billion to fight hunger.
Biden didn’t address America’s rising authoritarian competitor, China, directly but sprinkled implicit references to Beijing throughout his speech. He said the United States will compete vigorously, economically and to push democratic systems and rule of law.
“We’ll stand up for our allies and our friends and oppose attempts by stronger countries to dominate weaker ones, whether through changes to territory by force, economic coercion, technical exploitation or disinformation, but we’re not seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs,” he said.
“We’ve ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan and as we close this era of relentless war, we’re opening a new era of relentless diplomacy,” Biden said.
Biden vowed to defend vital US national interests, but said “the mission must be clear and achievable,” and the American military “must not be used as the answer to every problem we see around the world.”
