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Trump Pushes U.N.: ‘We Are Not Seeing the Results’ Trump Pushes U.N. on Reform and Hints He May Quit Iran Nuclear Deal
(about 3 hours later)
UNITED NATIONS — President Trump on Monday opened his first visit to the United Nations since taking office with a polite but firm call for the 72-year-old institution to overhaul itself, as world leaders waited to see how he would reconcile his “America first” vision with an institution devoted to collective action and global goals. UNITED NATIONS — President Trump on Monday opened his first visit to the United Nations since taking office with a polite but firm call for the 72-year-old institution to overhaul itself and a veiled threat to pull out of the Iran nuclear agreement.
In a meeting with counterparts from around the world, Mr. Trump said the United Nations had grown too bureaucratic and ineffective and should reorient its approach. He complained that spending and staff at the United Nations had grown enormously over the years but that “we are not seeing the results in line with this investment.”In a meeting with counterparts from around the world, Mr. Trump said the United Nations had grown too bureaucratic and ineffective and should reorient its approach. He complained that spending and staff at the United Nations had grown enormously over the years but that “we are not seeing the results in line with this investment.”
“That’s why we commend the secretary general and his call for the United Nations to focus more on people and less on bureaucracy,” Mr. Trump said, with Secretary General António Guterres sitting beside him. “We seek a United Nations that regains the trust of the people around the world. In order to achieve this, the United Nations must hold every level of management accountable, protect whistle-blowers and focus on results rather than on process.”“That’s why we commend the secretary general and his call for the United Nations to focus more on people and less on bureaucracy,” Mr. Trump said, with Secretary General António Guterres sitting beside him. “We seek a United Nations that regains the trust of the people around the world. In order to achieve this, the United Nations must hold every level of management accountable, protect whistle-blowers and focus on results rather than on process.”
He added that any reform should ensure that no single member “shoulders a disproportionate share of the burden, and that’s militarily or financially,” a sore point for many American conservatives who bristle at the share of United Nations costs born by the United States. Mr. Trump said nothing about whether he would pursue his proposal to radically cut American funding for the organization. He added that any reform should ensure that no single member “shoulders a disproportionate share of the burden, and that’s militarily or financially,” a sore point for many American conservatives who bristle at the share of United Nations costs borne by the United States. Mr. Trump said nothing about whether he would pursue his proposal to radically cut American funding for the organization.
The president’s comments lasted only four minutes and included none of the bombast he had directed at foreign institutions in the past. As recently as December, after winning the presidential election but before being sworn in, Mr. Trump dismissed the United Nations as “just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time.” He later met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, in the first of a string of sessions he will conduct with counterparts during four days in New York, and used the occasion to once again hint that he could pull out of the Iran deal negotiated by President Barack Obama along with the other four permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany. Mr. Netanyahu planned to press Mr. Trump to either revise the agreement or scrap it.
Asked by reporters whether he would withdraw, Mr. Trump said, “You’ll see very soon. You’ll be seeing very soon.” He added: “We’re talking about it constantly. Constantly. We’re talking about plans constantly.”
The president has until mid-October to certify under an American law whether Iran is complying with the deal, a certification he has grudgingly made twice already this year but that he has told advisers he does not want to make again. If he were to refuse to do so, it could potentially unravel the agreement.
In a harsh message to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors compliance with the nuclear agreement, Mr. Trump on Monday warned that the United States could withdraw if the accord is not properly policed. “We will not accept a weakly enforced or inadequately monitored deal,” Mr. Trump said in a message read by Rick Perry, the energy secretary, at the agency’s annual meeting in Vienna, according to news reports.
Iran has accused Mr. Trump of failing to comply with the deal by undercutting it and slapping sanctions on Tehran for other activities, like ballistic missile tests, an assertion it repeated in Vienna on Monday.
“The American administration’s overtly hostile attitude and actual foot-dragging policies and measures aim at undermining the nuclear deal and blocking Iran’s legitimate benefits from its full implementation,” said Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s atomic energy agency, according to news reports.
Iran has suggested it may pull out, but analysts are skeptical that it would do so because it has benefited from the agreement that lifted international sanctions in exchange for temporarily curbing its nuclear program.
At the same time, Iranian officials have continued to make hostile threats toward Israel. “We will destroy the Zionist entity at lightning speed, and thus shorten the 25 years it still has left,” said Seyyed Abdolrahim Mousavi, the commander in chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, according to Iranian media outlets quoted by the Jerusalem Post.
The meeting with Mr. Netanyahu focused on Iran, although Mr. Trump also repeated his commitment to finding peace between the Israelis and Palestinians despite growing doubts about his initiative. “I think there’s a good chance that it could happen,” he said. “Most people would say there’s no chance whatsoever.” He will meet with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday.
The meeting with Mr. Netanyahu was followed by another with President Emmanuel Macron of France where the two traded warm words and recalled Mr. Trump’s visit to a Bastille Day military parade in Paris in July. Mr. Trump will also host a dinner on Monday night with Latin American leaders that could focus on Venezuela’s increasingly harsh domestic crackdown and economic crisis.
The president’s comments to the United Nations meeting on Monday morning lasted only four minutes and included none of the bombast he had directed at foreign institutions in the past. As recently as December, after winning the presidential election but before being sworn in, Mr. Trump dismissed the United Nations as “just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time.” As president, he announced he was pulling the United States out of the Paris climate accord negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations.
The tension has gone both ways. Last month, the United Nations human rights chief chastised Mr. Trump for his repeated attacks on the news media, saying that they could incite violence and set a bad example for other countries.The tension has gone both ways. Last month, the United Nations human rights chief chastised Mr. Trump for his repeated attacks on the news media, saying that they could incite violence and set a bad example for other countries.
At a news conference at the French mission on Monday, Jean-Yves Le Drian, France’s foreign minister, described the context in which Mr. Trump arrived. “There’s a worrying degradation of the international environment,” he said. “Never since the end of the Cold War have dissensions, tensions, the level of conflict been so high in a world that is more interdependent than ever.”At a news conference at the French mission on Monday, Jean-Yves Le Drian, France’s foreign minister, described the context in which Mr. Trump arrived. “There’s a worrying degradation of the international environment,” he said. “Never since the end of the Cold War have dissensions, tensions, the level of conflict been so high in a world that is more interdependent than ever.”
“And what is worse is despite globalization, cooperation has become less easy with increasing questioning of the roles of the multilateral game and with a temptation of withdrawal out of fear or selfishness,” Mr. Le Drian added.“And what is worse is despite globalization, cooperation has become less easy with increasing questioning of the roles of the multilateral game and with a temptation of withdrawal out of fear or selfishness,” Mr. Le Drian added.
No mention was made during Mr. Trump’s opening appearance on Monday of the global crises that the United Nations has rung alarm bells about: attacks on the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, climate change, the nuclear threat in North Korea, and a record 65 million people displaced from their homes.No mention was made during Mr. Trump’s opening appearance on Monday of the global crises that the United Nations has rung alarm bells about: attacks on the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, climate change, the nuclear threat in North Korea, and a record 65 million people displaced from their homes.
Mr. Trump’s main message to the visiting heads of state and government will come on Tuesday when he addresses the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly. Aides have said he will stress “sovereignty and accountability,” a contrast to his predecessors who used the annual occasion to rally joint action on issues like terrorism, weapons proliferation and climate change.Mr. Trump’s main message to the visiting heads of state and government will come on Tuesday when he addresses the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly. Aides have said he will stress “sovereignty and accountability,” a contrast to his predecessors who used the annual occasion to rally joint action on issues like terrorism, weapons proliferation and climate change.
Mr. Trump will use the next four days to meet individually with numerous counterparts, starting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and President Emmanuel Macron of France. He will also host a dinner on Monday night with Latin American leaders that could focus on Venezuela’s increasingly harsh domestic crackdown and economic crisis. The president began his remarks on Monday with a compliment to the United Nations — and to himself. He cited his days as a real estate developer and his decision to build Trump World Tower opposite the organization’s headquarters, a building where several foreign diplomats working at the United Nations have their official residences.
The meeting with Mr. Netanyahu was expected to focus on Iran, a theocratic state that both men consider a threat to regional peace and stability. Mr. Netanyahu planned to use the session to press Mr. Trump to revise or scrap the nuclear agreement that the United States under President Barack Obama and five other major powers reached with Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for lifting international sanctions. Mr. Trump has repeatedly denounced the deal and is studying options for toughening enforcement or pulling out.
In a sharp message to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors Iran’s compliance with the agreement, Mr. Trump on Monday warned that the United States could withdraw if the accord is not properly policed. “We will not accept a weakly enforced or inadequately monitored deal,” Mr. Trump said in a message read by Rick Perry, the energy secretary, at the agency’s annual meeting in Vienna, according to news reports.
Iranian officials have counter-accused the United States of violating the agreement.
Mr. Netanyahu, for his part, has stressed Iran’s continuing hostility to Israel. The Israeli news media on Monday focused on comments made by a senior Iranian general repeating threats to Israel’s existence. “We will destroy the Zionist entity at lightning speed, and thus shorten the 25 years it still has left,” said Seyyed Abdolrahim Mousavi, the commander in chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, according to Iranian media outlets quoted by the Jerusalem Post.
As Mr. Trump met with world leaders on Monday morning, the president began with a compliment to the United Nations — and to himself. He cited his days as a real estate developer and his decision to build Trump World Tower opposite the organization’s headquarters, a building where several foreign diplomats working at the United Nations have their official residences.
“I actually saw great potential right across the street, to be honest with you, and it was only for the reason that the United Nations was here that that turned out to be such a successful project,” Mr. Trump said.“I actually saw great potential right across the street, to be honest with you, and it was only for the reason that the United Nations was here that that turned out to be such a successful project,” Mr. Trump said.
The event, organized by Mr. Trump’s envoy to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, was part of a still-vague effort to revamp the United Nations system.The event, organized by Mr. Trump’s envoy to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley, was part of a still-vague effort to revamp the United Nations system.
Ms. Haley’s overhaul blueprint contains proposals that have been circulated for years. Its significance lies its support for the United Nations’ very existence rather than bludgeoning it. Her blueprint was also an unequivocal show of support for Mr. Guterres, who would be granted chief-executive-style power to make fixes that he deems necessary. Ms. Haley’s overhaul blueprint contains proposals that have been circulated for years. Its significance lies in its support for the United Nations’ very existence rather than bludgeoning it, and Ms. Haley said 128 countries had backed it so far. Her blueprint was also an unequivocal show of support for Mr. Guterres, who would be granted chief-executive-style power to make fixes that he deems necessary.
Ms. Haley said 128 countries had so far backed the blueprint.
Mr. Guterres showered Mr. Trump with gratitude and went on to cite his own frustration with the system. “Someone recently asked what keeps me up at night. My answer was simple: bureaucracy,” Mr. Guterres said. “Fragmented structures. Byzantine procedures. Endless red tape.”Mr. Guterres showered Mr. Trump with gratitude and went on to cite his own frustration with the system. “Someone recently asked what keeps me up at night. My answer was simple: bureaucracy,” Mr. Guterres said. “Fragmented structures. Byzantine procedures. Endless red tape.”
Mr. Trump offered words of support. “We pledge to be partners in your work,” he said, “and I am confident that if we work together and champion truly bold reforms, the United Nations will emerge as a stronger, more effective, more just and greater force for peace and harmony in the world.”Mr. Trump offered words of support. “We pledge to be partners in your work,” he said, “and I am confident that if we work together and champion truly bold reforms, the United Nations will emerge as a stronger, more effective, more just and greater force for peace and harmony in the world.”