UNITED NATIONS: Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make what is likely his final trip in office to the United Nations this week, capping his engagements with the world body after a tumultuous four years that saw war return to Europe and multiple crises in the Middle East.
With the UN Security Council more divided than ever, Blinken will chair two meetings of the UN’s most powerful body on Thursday.
But neither will focus on Russia’s war with Ukraine or the Middle East, where the US has been frequently at odds with permanent members China and Russia and almost always in the minority when it comes to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Instead, in an apparent bid to produce a modicum of consensus, Blinken will lead Security Council sessions on artificial intelligence and the current conflict in Sudan, which aid agencies say has sparked a dire humanitarian crisis that has not received the attention it is due.