WATCH: Iran demands 'goodwill' from US at UN General Assembly

"We will continue to support the Palestinian people in their struggle for legitimate rights under international law," Turkey's Erdogan told the assembly.

 U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 19, 2023 (photo credit: REUTERS/CAITLIN OCHS)
U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 19, 2023
(photo credit: REUTERS/CAITLIN OCHS)

World leaders are speaking on the first day of the United Nations 78th General Assembly on Tuesday.

US President Joe Biden appealed to world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday to stand with Ukraine against Russian invaders, hoping Republicans in Congress will also take notice.

"Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence," Biden said in his speech to UNGA. "If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?"
Biden drew applause when saying that the United States and its allies would stand with Ukraine's fight for freedom. "Russia alone bears responsibility for this war," the president said. "Russia alone has the power to end this war immediately."
Biden's address at the annual gathering was the centerpiece event of his three-day visit to New York, which will include meetings with the heads of five Central Asian nations and the leaders of Israel and Brazil.
"The sons of xenophobia, islamophobia, have reached concerning levels across the world," Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in his address to the United Nations.

“Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukraine war, we have been tending to our Russian and Ukrainian counterparts. With the Black Sea initiative, we have prevented a global hunger crisis by ensuring the delivery of grain through the Black Sea to global markets,” Erdogan added.

“This humanitarian bridge, extending to countries in dire need… aiming to make the greatest contribution to world peace around us.”

“Countries that work with terrorist organizations for their own financial and political interests have no right to complain about terrorism, problems as an extension in a world where no one is safe. This is true whether someone lives next to a conflict zone or far away in a land surrounded by oceans. Nobody can be safe."

“In order for peace to reign in the Middle East, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict must be brought to an eventual solution. We will continue to support the Palestinian people in their struggle for legitimate rights under international law. Without the realization of an independent and integrated Palestinian state, based on the 1967 borders, it is difficult for Israel to find the peace and security it seeks in that part of the world. In this context, we will continue to respect the historical status of Jerusalem.”

“Countries are suffering from racism, and Islamophobia as if it were a plague. It’s become unbearable. Attacks against the Quran in Europe under the guise of free speech are unacceptable. No one can accept heinous attacks. These attacks are threatening the prosperity and welfare of the entire world.”

“It is unacceptable for the Palestinian people to continue to languish under the yolk and the intransigence of the Israeli occupation and the rejection by consecutive Israeli governments of any just political solution according to international legitimacy," emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Amir said in his address to the United Nations.

"It is conspicuous so that the international organization takes procedures against the occupation. It continues to give Israel the opportunity to undermine the two-state solution to the extent that even some of Israel’s friends have noticed that," he added.

"Israel also responds to Arab peace and normalization initiatives with more nationalist and ultra-orthodox intransigence and extremism that is reflected in government coalitions and further settlement expansion, including the Judaization of Jerusalem, attacks on the holy sites, and using heavy-handed and draconian measures against the people in Gaza," he said in his United Nations address.

"Qatar provides humanitarian and brotherly support to the people in Palestine and we’d also contribute to the development of the Gaza Strip."

Iran's demands of the United States 

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Tuesday that the United States should prove its "goodwill and determination" to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that Washington abandoned in 2018.

"By exiting the JCPOA, the United States violated the agreement. ... America should demonstrate its goodwill and determination," Raisi said in a speech at the UN General Assembly, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between Tehran and six world powers.