Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Obama said the world is a “better place” for America’s involvement in resolving foreign conflicts and to scale back that involvement “would be a mistake.”
UNITED NATIONS—President Barack Obama told world leaders that an agreement with Iran to contain its nuclear program should be achievable and offered Tehran improved diplomatic relations, setting the stage for heightened efforts this week to forge a rapprochement between Washington and Tehran.
Mr. Obama, presenting his approach to the Middle East in a speech to world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, also told the annual gathering that the opposing camps fighting Syria’s civil war needed to be prepared to make concessions to end the carnage in the Arab country.
The American president stressed that world powers needed to use their influence with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the country’s rebel forces to force a political process to end the conflict.
“It’s time for Russia and Iran to realize that insisting on Assad’s rule will lead directly to the outcome they fear: an increasingly violent space for extremists to operate,” Mr. Obama said in a nearly hourlong speech. “In turn, those of us who continue to support the moderate opposition must persuade them that the Syrian people cannot afford a collapse of state institutions.”
Mr. Obama’s speech was framed as an explanation to world leaders of the U.S. approach to the Mideast, and he said a resolution of two main underlying issues—Iran’s nuclear intentions and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—would open doors to progress across the region.
Obama at the U.N.
President Obama signaled the possible resumption of talks between Iran and the U.S., telling the United Nations the resolution of Iran’s nuclear program would be a major step toward a new relationship between the two nations.
The address came as world diplomats closely scrutinized efforts by the U.S. and new Iranian President Hasan Rouhani to pursue a thaw to end more than 30 years of acrimony.
Mr. Rouhani was in line to address the General Assembly later Tuesday, and both leaders have expressed a willingness to meet directly on the sidelines of the U.N. meetings. Attention is particularly focused on a lunch for world leaders on Tuesday as a possible venue for a face-to-face meeting.
Mr. Obama said the U.S. was cautious in embracing Mr. Rouhani’s overture. But the American leader said he believed a unique opportunity had arisen for a rapprochement between decades-old enemies if Mr. Rouhani takes concrete steps to curtail Iran’s nuclear program.
Mr. Obama said he has empowered Secretary of State John Kerry to test Iran’s recent conciliatory posture and see if a nuclear accord can be reached.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Obama said the world is a “better place” for America’s involvement in resolving foreign conflicts and to scale back that involvement “would be a mistake.”
Mr. Kerry is scheduled to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday as part of a larger meeting between Tehran and global powers.
“The United States and Iran have been isolated from one another since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. This mistrust has deep roots,” Mr. Obama said. “We should be able to achieve a resolution that respects the rights of the Iranian people, while giving the world confidence that the Iranian program is peaceful. To succeed, conciliatory words will have to be matched by actions that are transparent and verifiable.”
Mr. Obama said Syria’s worsening civil war served as a crucial test for the ability of the U.N. and international community to stop sectarian violence and the use of weapons of mass destruction.
Mr. Obama reaffirmed Washington’s position that Mr. Assad’s forces used chemical weapons against Syrian civilians on Aug. 21. He urged the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution this week demanding the disarming of Damascus’s chemical-weapons arsenal. He said this step should be followed by an international conference aimed at creating a post-Assad transitional government.
“Now, there must be a strong Security Council resolution to verify that the Assad regime is keeping its commitments, and there must be consequences if they fail to do so,” Mr. Obama said. “If we cannot agree even on this, then it will show that the U.N. is incapable of enforcing the most basic of international laws.”
Addressing Washington’s broader policy towards the Middle East, Mr. Obama again pressed world leaders to back the U.S. push to forge an independent Palestinian state. Reaching such an accord, he said, would have a broader impact on stabilizing the region.
“All of us must recognize that peace will be a powerful tool to defeat extremists, and embolden those who are prepared to build a better future,” Mr. Obama said. “Moreover, ties of trade and commerce between Israelis and Arabs could be an engine of growth and opportunity at a time when too many young people in the region are languishing without work.”
Mr. Obama said his administration was committed to remaining deeply engaged in the Mideast, even as the U.S. draws down its military presence. But he pushed back on the criticism of his administration’s policies in the region, which have included charges that the U.S. is too disconnected, as well as that it is meddling in trying to pick winners and losers in countries such as Egypt, Syria and Libya.
Mr. Obama warned Mideast leaders that Americans have grown weary of financing a major American role in the region. He said, though, that the Middle East and North Africa could be at risk if the U.S. significantly pulls back.
“The recent debate within the United States over Syria clearly showed, the danger for the world is not an America that is eager to immerse itself in the affairs of other countries, or take on every problem in the region as its own,” Mr. Obama said. “The danger for the world is that the United States, after a decade of war, rightly concerned about issues back home and aware of the hostility that our engagement in the region has engendered throughout the Muslim World, may disengage, creating a vacuum of leadership that no other nation is ready to fill.”
—Jared A. Favole contributed to this article.
Write to Jay Solomon at jay.solomon@wsj.com
Continued here: Obama Sets Stage for Shift With Iran
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