UN chief: World extra unpredictable than in the course of the Cold War

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has mentioned the present world is “much more chaotic, much less predictable” than in the course of the Cold War between the previous Soviet Union and the United States, and it’s harmful as a result of there are not any “instruments” to take care of crises.
He mentioned in a wide-ranging press convention on Friday that the Cold War was between two opposing blocs the place there have been clear guidelines and mechanisms to stop battle. It “never became hot because there was a certain level of predictability”, he mentioned.
He mentioned he wouldn’t name the damaging scenario right this moment a Cold War or a Hot War however most likely “a new form of tepid confrontation”.
As he begins his second time period as UN secretary-general, Guterres mentioned in an Associated Press interview on Thursday that the world is worse in some ways than it was 5 years in the past due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the local weather disaster and geopolitical tensions which have sparked conflicts in all places however in contrast to US President Joe Biden he thinks Russia won’t invade Ukraine.
At the press convention, Guterres mentioned his message to Russian President Vladimir Putin “is that there should not be any military intervention” in Ukraine.
“I am convinced it will not happen, and I strongly hope to be right,” he mentioned.
The UN chief spoke after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Geneva on the disaster over Ukraine which has seen Moscow deploy tens of 1000’s of troops on its border and Western nations sending navy {hardware} to Kyiv.
Expectations have been low for a breakthrough and there was none, however the high US and Russian diplomats agreed to fulfill once more.
“What for me is essential is that this dialogue leads to a good solution and that that good solution is that there is de-escalation and this crisis ends,” Guterres mentioned. “That is our objective. I’ve been saying that I strongly hope that diplomacy will prevail.”
Guterres reiterated within the AP interview that the U.N. Security Council, which does have the ability to uphold worldwide peace and safety together with by imposing sanctions and ordering navy motion, is split, particularly its 5 veto-wielding everlasting members.
Russia and China are sometimes at odds with the United States, Britain and France on key points, together with Thursday on new sanctions towards North Korea.
The secretary-general reiterated on the information convention that splitting the world in two — with the United States and China creating rival financial techniques and guidelines, every with dominant foreign money, its personal Internet, technological technique and synthetic intelligence — have to be averted “at all costs”.
“I always advocated for the need for a unified global market, a unified global economy,” Guterres mentioned. “At the present moment there are a number of differences and I’ve been advocating both with the US and China on the importance of a serious dialogue and a serious negotiation on the aspect of trade and technology in which the two countries have… different positions.”
He mentioned his intention is to see the 2 main financial powers “overcome those difficulties and to be able to establish that global market in which all can cooperate and all can benefit.”
Guterres spoke to reporters after presenting his priorities for 2022 to diplomats from the UN’s 193 member nations within the General Assembly and assessing the worldwide panorama which he referred to as “not a pretty picture.”
“I see a five alarm global fire,” the secretary-general mentioned.
“Each of the alarms is feeding off the others,” he mentioned. “They are accelerants to an inferno.”
He cited inequity and injustice in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, “a global economic system rigged against the poor,” inadequate motion on “the existential climate threat” and “a wild west digital frontier that profits from division”.
Guterres mentioned all these “social and economic fires” are creating conflicts and unrest around the globe, and all of them are fuelling distrust and folks’s misplaced religion in establishments and their underlying values.
“In every corner of the world, we see this erosion of core values. Equality. Justice. Cooperation. Dialogue. Mutual respect,” the secretary-general mentioned.
He warned that injustice, inequality, distrust, racism and discrimination “are casting dark shadows across every society” and mentioned all nations should restore “human dignity and human decency” and “prevent the death of truth”.
“We must make lying wrong again,” Guterres mentioned.