On the second day of the 7th session of the UN General Assembly, political tensions escalated with the coronavirus prevention talks. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi likened the US government's sanctions to an undeclared war. On the other hand, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed concern over the refugee issue caused by the crisis in Afghanistan and Syria.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi did not attend the session in New York. In a video statement from Tehran, he sharply criticized the sanctions imposed by the US government.
"Sanctions are an undeclared war. It is not just Iran that has been subjected to sanctions since the start of its nuclear programme. Ever since Iran became self-sufficient, Washington has been trying to keep us down. Even during the corona epidemic, the Iranian people did not escape US sanctions,” Ebrahim Raisi said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke on Afghanistan and Syria. He says Turkey has to pay the price because of the refugee crisis. The influx of refugees into Turkey has been on the rise since the Afghan crisis began.
"There is a Syrian crisis that started earlier. Ankara is under pressure because of these two countries. Therefore, it should be resolved immediately,” Erdogan continued.
The Turkish president also spoke to the UN on the Kashmir issue. "The Kashmir issue, which has been going on for 74 years, needs to be resolved through dialogue, according to a UN resolution," he said.
On the other hand, Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced that he will not build new coal-fired power plants. Instead, the focus will be on greening and low carbon energy projects, he said.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the White House. During the meeting, the two leaders discussed various issues including trade.
