At UN, Biden Offers ‘Era of Relentless Diplomacy’ — Except for Russia

President Joe Biden declared an “era of relentless diplomacy” at the United Nations on Wednesday — but declined to offer any kind of negotiations to Russia, instead spending several minutes condemning Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine.

Biden was addressing the annual opening of the UN General Assembly, just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of conscription for the Ukraine war, and suggested a willingness to use nuclear weapons against the West.

His call for “diplomacy” applied to social and environmental issues of general interest to the world as a whole, such as the “climate crisis,” hunger among the world’s poor, and “strengthening global health security” — but not to physical security.

Instead, Biden harshly criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, and hailed international efforts “to impose costs on Russia, to deter attacks against NATO territory, [and] to hold Russia accountable for the atrocities and war crimes.”

The reason, Biden said: “[I]f nations can pursue their imperial ambitions without consequences, then we put at risk everything this very institution stands for — everything.” (Notably, the U.S. has been accused of “imperial ambitions” at the UN.)

The Biden administration has been curiously silent about the potential for diplomacy with Russia, even as it has pursued nuclear talks with Iran. All the White House has said is that it hopes to strengthen Ukraine’s hand, if talks eventually happen.

Ukraine achieved early leverage with its successful defense of the capital city of Kyiv against Russian invasion. It lost that advantage over subsequent months, but regained it with a successful recent counteroffensive in the eastern Donbas region.

Today, Ukraine and the West might hope to engage in talks from a position of strength. Moreover, the threat of escalating war also suggests talks might be timely. Yet Biden, who took office claiming “diplomacy is back,” refused to offer them to Russia.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.