White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Thursday to reporters on board the US President´s Air Force One presidential plane that US President Donald Trump will not personally attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting scheduled for next week.
The decision is considered a shift in President Trump´s position after he announced last month that he intends to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York, although other world leaders prefer to give their speeches virtually, and not go to the meeting due to the Corona pandemic.
Meadows confirmed to reporters who accompanied Trump on his way to Wisconsin to address his supporters at a campaign rally that the president would not personally attend the 75th session of the General Assembly, which will be held mainly online due to the health crisis.
Trump is expected to shed light on the normalization between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel under his auspices, which he (Trump) considers a great achievement in achieving Middle Eastern peace, and he reiterates that the world must acknowledge his thanks in achieving peace "between historical enemies."
The main part of this year´s General Assembly meeting, represented by world leaders rotating speeches, continues during the week that begins on Tuesday, September 22 and ends on the 29th of this month.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to deliver his speech by default next Friday, September 18, 2020.
For his part, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed in statements on Tuesday that this year´s session will focus on the global response to the Covid-19 epidemic, in addition to "peace and security, disarmament, human rights, gender equality and sustainable development."
