‘Some things are more important than staying in power’: In UN speech, Biden speaks of dropping out of the election and warns of Middle East war

President Joe Biden has warned world leaders of the dangers of an expanded war in the Middle East during his final appearance before the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The president, who will leave office in January, delivered what is most likely the final major foreign policy address of his half-century in public life on Tuesday. Just two months ago, he shocked the world by becoming the first American chief executive in half a century to forgo seeking re-election to a second term.

As he touted his administration’s work to bring “a greater measure of peace and stability to the Middle East”, Biden said the world “must not flinch” from facing what he described as “the horrors” of the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas against Israel. He added that “any country” would have both the right and responsibility to respond after such an attack.

But Biden also lamented the deaths and injuries of “innocent civilians” during the near year-long war Israel launched in response to the attacks.

Both Gaza residents and the families of hostages held by Hamas are “going through hell”, he said, with “thousands and thousands killed — including aid workers” and “too many families dislocated, crowding into tents, facing a dire humanitarian situation”.

“They never asked for this war that Hamas started,” he continued, adding that the peace deal put forward by the US, Egypt and Qatar has been approved by the UN Security Council.

“Now is the time for the parties to finalize its terms, bring the hostages home and secure security for Israel and Gaza, free of Hamas ... [to] ease the suffering in Gaza and end this war,” he added.

But the president also warned against expansion of the war along Israel’s border with Lebanon and lamented how people on both sides remain displaced by the conflict.

“A full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest. Even if the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible. In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security to allow the residents from both countries to return to their homes and the border safely. And that’s what ... we’re working tirelessly to achieve,” he said.

Biden added that “the rise of violence against innocent Palestinians on the West Bank” must be addressed. He also said it was important to work to “set the conditions for a better future” for Palestinians, “including a two-state solution, where the world, where Israel enjoys security and peace, full recognition and normalized relations with all its neighbors, but Palestinians live in security, dignity and self-determination in a state of their own”.

The president also called on world leaders to continue the staunch support for Ukraine’s self-defense against Russia which has been led by the US under his administration.

“We are stronger than we think,” he said, when the world acts together.

He called on the leaders to uphold their respective nations’ commitment to the UN Charter and its non-aggression principles.

“When Russia invaded Ukraine, we could have stood by and merely protested, but Vice President Harris and I understood that that was an assault on everything this institution was supposed to stand for,” he said as he recalled how he’d asked the UN to “stand up” for Ukraine in response.

“The good news is Putin’s war has failed ... He set out to destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is still free ... but we cannot let up,” he said, adding that now, the world “has another choice to make”: “Will we sustain our support to help Ukraine win this war and preserve its freedom, or walk away, let aggression be renewed and a nation be destroyed?”

Biden’s address comes less than 50 days before Americans will choose whether Harris — like him, a staunch supporter of Kyiv’s efforts — or former president Donald Trump — an opponent of Ukraine and isolationist — will replace him as president on January 20, 2025.

Trump has pledged to cut off aid to Ukraine if elected. He has also claimed that he can somehow bring an end to the war by making Ukraine and Russia come to an agreement that would likely lock in the territorial gains Moscow has made by force.

Biden’s exit from the world stage on January 20 will come just under six months after the disastrous debate against Trump. His poor performance during that debate directly led to his withdrawal from the presidential race. On Tuesday, the president addressed his decision to stand down in remarks that echoed the speech he gave following the announcement of his withdrawal as a candidate.

He told leaders that he’d “made the preservation of democracy” into a “central cause” of his time in office, and recounted how he’d wrestled with the decision over whether to remain in the race after his poor performance against his predecessor.

“As much as I love the job, I love my country more. I decided, after 50 years of public service, it’s time for a new generation of leadership to take my nation forward,” he said.

“My fellow leaders, let us never forget: Some things are more important than staying in power. It’s your people that matter the most. Never forget we are here to serve the people, not the other way around.”