Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield interviewed by BBC World News’ Laura Trevelyan

Linda Thomas-Greenfield Ambassador
U.S. Representative to the United Nations
New York, New York
September 20, 2022

when delivered

question: World leaders are gathering, in fact now joined by Linda Thomas Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in New York. Welcome to BBC World News, Ambassador.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield: Thanks, nice to be here.

question: Now, as you said last week, the United Nations is facing a crisis of confidence because of the war in Ukraine. Because Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, invaded Ukraine, another UN member state. What can be done this week to restore confidence in the UN?

Ambassador Thomas Greenfield: Well, first of all, we’re going to continue what we’ve been doing for the past six months, which is to condemn Russia, isolate Russia, and express our strong commitment to helping Ukraine defend itself. We want to talk about how we can move forward to enable the United Nations to deal with such crises in the future – when the permanent members of the Security Council attack another country, attack the UN Charter. This has indeed developed into a crisis that requires our undivided attention.

question: Will you or any member of the U.S. delegation meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York this week to try to figure out how to end the war?

Ambassador Thomas Greenfield: We have no plans to meet Lavrov directly, but as you know, there will be a Council meeting on September 22. Minister Blinken will serve as the U.S. president and Lavrov will serve as the Russian president. For the first time, he will hear our condemnation and concern for their attack directly from Council members, and he will hear the call for all of us to withdraw our troops from Ukrainian soil.

question: We will also hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Because of the war, he will give a pre-recorded speech to the United Nations. He will ask for more weapons. Will the U.S. give him the tanks and long-range missiles he wants so he can capitalize on the momentum they’ve built in the recent offensive against the Russians?

Ambassador Thomas Greenfield: Our commitment to Ukraine has always been strong. We will continue to support Ukraine’s right to defend itself against unprovoked Russian aggression. We will continue to discuss with them what they need to protect themselves.

question: We will hear from President Biden, who will speak tomorrow. He talked about how the U.S. would respond if Russia were to use chemical or nuclear weapons in Ukraine. When he speaks here, will he elaborate on what the U.S. response will be?

Ambassador Thomas Greenfield: I don’t think he’s going to state that on the convention floor, and I’m not going to state it here. But I think the Russians know what it means when we say consequential.

question: The divisions between the US, Russia and China are indeed the deepest since the Cold War, and this is indeed unsettling the countries of the Global South. The countries of the Global South feel their crises, like climate change, are being ignored, the effects of the Ukraine war on them — rising food and energy prices — and they’re only halfway there. What would you say?

Ambassador Thomas Greenfield: I would say to them that we will continue to focus on these issues. As you know, our priorities at the UN General Assembly this week are not just dealing with Ukraine. Ukraine will be front and center, I cannot deny that, but we are also concerned about food insecurity. Minister Blinken will chair today a meeting with the EU, AU and Spain to discuss our commitment to tackle food insecurity. We’re also talking about global health and how to deal with future health crises and epidemics. We have committed $6 billion to replenish the Global Fund. We will discuss the United Nations Charter and how we can reform the United Nations to make it fit for the future.

question: Let’s talk about this. There is a lot of national resentment, basically the UN Security Council that runs the place – the victors of World War II are on it – the US and the UK, China, Russia and France. You said it was time to reform the United Nations. Is it time for an African country to join the UN Security Council?

Ambassador Thomas Greenfield: We are open to discussions about expanding the Council to make it more representative of the world. Those discussions will take place over the next few weeks and a year to examine how more members can become permanent and selected members of the Security Council.

question: But you don’t think this is something that Russia and China would veto, especially if the US backs it?

Ambassador Thomas Greenfield: I hope China and Russia agree with us that it is time for the Security Council to change, I noticed that Foreign Minister Lavrov talked about Security Council reform when he was in Africa and mentioned that Russia might support it. So we’re going to get involved and see how far it gets us.

question: Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in New York. Thank you for joining us, and good luck in the diplomatic whirlwind.

Ambassador Thomas Greenfield: OK thank you very much.

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