The diplomats at the United Nations had to show protocol flexibility.

They didn't want to postpone the big event in New York.

When the general debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly begins on Tuesday morning (local time), the American President will be absent from the East River.

The state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II has disrupted the annual meeting of heads of state and government.

130 of them have signed up after three years of pandemic-related dormancy.

A day later than usual, on Wednesday, Joe Biden will take the world stage.

Majid Sattar

Political correspondent for North America based in Washington.

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It is his second appearance before the General Assembly - and the challenges have increased.

Last year, eight months after taking office, Biden heralded a "new era of diplomacy" and signaled to his allies that Washington was ready to resume global leadership after years of "America-first" nationalism under Donald Trump.

America, according to Biden, wants to focus on political problem-solving and not on military strength.

A year later, the President is looking at a world with new war zones and danger zones that require him to perform a balancing act that, in his words, is about nothing less than preventing a third world war.

Seven months after the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the war is in a critical phase from Washington's point of view: the recent gains in territory by the Ukrainian armed forces confirm the American security authorities' internal analyzes of the problems facing the Russian military.

However, Kiev's successful counter-offensive also fuels concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been cornered, may be tempted to escalate the war - for example by using weapons of mass destruction.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the opening of the summit that the General Assembly was meeting at a time of "great danger".

When asked at the weekend how he would react if Putin used tactical nuclear or chemical weapons, Biden avoided a concrete answer and only said: “Don’t do that.

It would change the face of the war like nothing since World War II.” The president and his allies must decide promptly how they will continue to support the Ukrainian counter-offensive militarily without giving Moscow an excuse to escalate.

Red lines from Russia cannot be the benchmark.

Biden will use his speech in New York to campaign for continued support for the unprecedented sanctions regime against Russia – also in view of a certain “Ukraine fatigue”, particularly in the Global South, especially as resistance to this has been audible in many developing countries from the start of the war was having to choose between the West and Russia (as well as China).

A summit on food security should make it clear that the West is not losing sight of the negative consequences of the war.

And the American side has announced one more thing: