70th United Nations general debate begins

UNITED NATIONS, September 28. /TASS/. The 70th UN General Assembly’s annual General Debate kicks off at the UN headquarters on Monday and is expected to become the most substantive discussion in the international organization’s history. The forum, which will last through October 3, is due to be attended by 144 heads of state and government and also 46 foreign ministers of the UN member-states. At least 8,915 delegates have been accredited, and around 3,000 journalists will cover the event. Putin is expected to address the UN General Assembly on Monday and present his vision of the modern situation in the world and the ways to resolve the most acute problems. The program of Putin’s visit envisages meetings with UN chief Ban Ki-moon and a range of foreign leaders, including US President Barack Obama and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. After Putin leaves New York, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will head the Russian delegation at the session. Lavrov is scheduled to have several meetings, including with his US counterpart John Kerry and the secretary generals of the UN and the Arab League. The General Debate will be devoted to the issues like conflict settlement, fight against terrorism, climate change, social problems, human rights, economic issues and energy security. The world leaders are expected to address the unprecedented migration crisis, the Iranian nuclear deal, the UN Security Council reform and the 2016 elections of the next UN chief. Several dozen forums, sessions and conferences will be held simultaneously with the UN General Assembly’s session that are set to look into how to solve the most acute problems. Read more