Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the UN Security Council, September 20, 2023 (EPA)

I spoke with Monocle Radio’s Emma Nelson on Thursday about this week’s UN General Assembly session, focusing on the appearance of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, US President Joe Biden’s address seeking a renewal of “international order”, and Biden’s sit-down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

I explain how it was a good week for Zelenskiy. He put the onus on Russia to address the “Ukraine Peace Formula”, and he was effective in his call for bolstered international support to defeat Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

While refraining from bombast, Biden got across his message about the need to address security arrangements, in the context of the Russian invasion and other conflicts.

But his session with Netanyahu was an example of power politics, rather than idealism: the US has set aside its concerns about the unprecedented division in Israeli society wrought by the Prime Minister — and about Israel’s actions in Palestine — because of the priority of “normalization” between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Listen to Discussion from 15:01: