Last Speech At The United Nations, Biden Alludes To Efforts To Reduce Tensions In The Middle East

US President Joe Biden/PHOTO via Instagram @jobiden

JAKARTA - United States (US) President Joe Biden addressed world leaders at the United Nations for the last time. Biden said the Russian war in Ukraine had failed and touched on the diplomatic solution between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

With four months remaining, Biden climbs to the podium at the UN General Assembly amid the war in Ukraine, the Gaza Strip and Sudan, which is still raging and is likely to last longer than his term as president to end in January.

Biden sought to ease tensions as the war lasted nearly a year between Israel and Palestinian militant Hamas in the trapped Gaza Strip now threatens to hit Lebanon where Israel is targeting more than a thousand Hezbollah targets on Monday, September 23.

"The full-scale war is not in anyone's interest, even if the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible," he told the 193-member UN General Assembly.

Accompanied by the lively applause, Biden called on Israel and Hamas to finalize the ceasefire requirements in Gaza and the deal to release hostages proposed by the US, Qatar, and Egypt.

Biden's presidency was also dominated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was in the meeting hall listening to Biden's speech and stressed US support for his country.

"The good news is that Putin's war has failed to achieve its main goal. He intends to destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is still free," Biden said.

"We must not feel tired, we cannot turn away, and we will not stop supporting Ukraine, until Ukraine wins with a just and long-lasting peace," he said.

Russia controls less than a fifth of Ukraine, including about 80 percent of the Donbas region. Russian troops began to invade the city of Vuhledar in eastern Ukraine, a fort that has been holding back Russian attacks since the start of the war, according to war bloggers Russia and state media.

Biden is scheduled to hear Zelenskiy's remarks about Ukraine's new peace plan when they meet in Washington on Thursday.

A US official said the plan may be similar to previous plans calling for more weapons and support for Ukraine's struggle.