PREVIEW: High-Level Segment Of 73rd UNGA To Focus On Iran, Syria, Korean Peninsula

UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2018) The second week of the 73rd UN General Assembly (UNGA73), which is being held in New York City on September 18-October 5, will be a marathon of high-level sessions and bilateral meetings focused on the security challenges and most urgent international issues such as Iran and the future of the country's nuclear deal, weapons of mass destruction, the Syrian peace settlement and situation on the Korean Peninsula.

The week of September 24 - 28 will be the most intense and see world leaders' arrivals, the General Debate, and numerous multilateral and bilateral high-level meetings.

On Monday, the foreign ministers of China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia, and the United Kingdom as well as EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini will hold a meeting on the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the context of the US decision to withdraw from the agreement and to reimpose sanctions against Iran.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump will chair the UN Security Council meeting on Iran and nations possessing weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

Since Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is going to attend the UNGA73, there have been media reports earlier in September about a possible meeting between Rouhani and Trump. US State Secretary Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that Trump was willing to engage in a constructive dialogue with Iran's representatives and did not rule out the possibility of meeting them on the sidelines of the UNGA.

Following the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and consequent reinstatement of sanctions against Iran, other signatories of the Iran nuclear deal � China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the European Union � have repeatedly voiced their commitment to the deal. The European Union responded to the US move by introducing its Blocking Statute, which exempted the EU firms from complying with the US sanctions against Iran.

Another high-level meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA will bring together foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey � three guarantor states of the ceasefire regime in Syria � and will be devoted to the situation with the Syrian peace settlement.

The meeting will come soon after an important agreement on Idlib province reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a Sochi summit on September 17. The memorandum on stabilizing the situation in the Syrian province envisaged setting up a 9-12 mile demilitarized zone along the contact line of the armed opposition and the government forces by October 15.

The political aspect of the Syrian settlement is also likely to be discussed on the sidelines of the event, since UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura will take part in the UNGA as well.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet with Trump in New York City on Monday, according to the South Korean presidential spokesperson.

Moon told reporters last week that he intended to discuss with Trump the possibility of reaching an agreement with North Korea that would put an official end to the war on the Korean peninsula this year.

The discussions are likely to touch upon Moon's recent visit to Pyongyang for the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which took place on September 18.

During the meeting, Kim agreed to allow international experts to monitor the closure of the North Korean Dongchang-ri missile engine testing and launch facility and permanent dismantlement of the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, as long as the United States carried out agreed-on corresponding actions. Kim and Moon also agreed to end large-scale artillery exercises and flights near the demilitarized zone between the two states.

Apart from the General Debate, Security Council sessions and multilateral meetings, leaders and foreign ministers of the UN member states are going to have a marathon of bilaterals. Although officials' schedules are going to see many last-minute adjustments and changes, some of the meetings have already been announced.

Trump will meet eye-on-eye with UK Prime Minister Theresa May and the South Korean president, while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet with Rouhani.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in turn, will meet with the EU high representative for foreign policy, the Croatian president, the Zambian foreign minister, the president of Cyprus, the NATO secretary general and possibly with his US and Japanese counterparts.

US State Secretary Mike Pompeo, in turn, announced that he had invited his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong Ho to meet with him on the sidelines of the UNGA amid the two parties' work to organize another summit between Trump and Kim.

Without a doubt, many more full-fledged and on-the-go bilaterals will take place at the UN headquarters in New York City apart from those that have been announced.