Russia has refused to back a United Nations plan aimed at uniting the world’s increasingly divided nations to address 21st-century challenges such as climate change, artificial intelligence, escalating conflicts, inequality, and poverty.
Speaking at the Summit of the Future in New York on Monday, Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Vershinin stated that the summit’s outcome documents do not impose any obligations on Russia, as certain provisions did not reach consensus.
The UN General Assembly had approved the 42-page “Pact for the Future” on Sunday, which calls on the leaders of its 193 member states to turn promises into real actions that improve the lives of the world’s more than 8 billion people. The pact was adopted at the start of a two-day summit convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who thanked world leaders for taking initial steps and unlocking “the door” to a better future.
The pact sets out 56 actions to address key global challenges, but uniting the world’s nations to swiftly implement the agreement remains a significant hurdle. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced American support for the pact, stating, “Simply preserving the status quo is not an option,” and emphasized the U.S. commitment to modernizing the UN system to reflect current realities.
Blinken also underscored the U.S.’s position on maintaining the core principles of the UN Charter, rejecting any attempts to undermine or dilute them.
Secretary-General Guterres expressed his gratitude to the member nations for approving the pact, calling it a crucial step towards addressing urgent global issues like climate change and artificial intelligence. The adoption of the pact was uncertain until the last minute, with Guterres preparing three different speeches depending on the outcome of the vote, according to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.