UN General Assembly: virtual face-to-face expected between Beijing and Washington

United Nations Headquarters in New York, September 21, 2020. REUTERS / Mike Segar

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They will not be physically present at the podium, but that will not prevent the leaders of the 193 UN member countries from speaking at the 75th General Assembly.

The first morning of speeches promises to be intense with speeches by the American, Russian, Chinese, French and Iranian presidents.

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With our correspondent in New York,

It seems that this kickoff of the General Assembly will be a concentrate of global geopolitics in a few hundred minutes.

The order of the draw brought some adrenaline to this virtual program of the 75th United Nations General Assembly.

We feared lack of dynamism, in the end, the stand will look more like a boxing ring on Tuesday morning, than a marathon.

China / United States duel

As usual, Brazil speaks first, followed by the United States, so far everything is normal.

This naturally leads to particular scrutiny of the speech of the American president.

But as a metaphor reminiscent of Beijing's advances in the UN system, Chinese President Xi Jinping will address himself in 4th position.

Not only, it will be a moment still followed by the majority of the spectators not yet tired of the speeches.

But above all, it could appear as

with his counterpart Donald Trump.

Especially since this year, the two countries have clashed several times at the UN, and both have taken the Security Council hostage by

.

The interventions of Vladimir Poutine and Emmanuel Macron, both also holders of a veto right in the Council, will also be widely followed.

Expected response from Rohani

But above all, Iranian President Rouhani's speech will be broadcast before the end of the morning, and he too will certainly be tempted to respond to the American provocations of the last few days.

The United States, after failing to force the Security Council to reinstate sanctions against Iran, decided to

, while threatening sanctions on anyone who violated them.

►Also read: Major report - UN: behind the scenes of an extraordinary General Assembly

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• UN

• United States

• China

• Iran

• Donald trump

• Xi Jinping

• Hassan Rouhani

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