The presidents of China, Russia and the United States talked about hypocrisy, past mistakes and a future of greater equality during their speeches at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday in New York City.
There were some slightly awkward moments--the U.S. criticizing Russia followed by Russia criticizing the West--and at least one walk out. (The Ukrainian delegation walked out during the speech by Vladimir Putin, Russia's president.)
Here are some of the highlights:
United States President Barack Obama
Technology, social media lead to change
Obama spoke of how technology and social media has helped bring about revolutions.
"It is not a conspiracy of U.S.-backed NGOs that expose corruption and raise the expectations of people around the globe," Obama said. "It's technology, social media, and the irreducible desire of people everywhere to make their own choices about how they are governed."
Admitting mistakes
He also admitted that Western governments haven't always made smart decisions.
"Even as we helped the Libyan people bring an end to the reign of a tyrant, our coalition could have and should have done more to fill a vacuum left behind," Obama said. "We will help any legitimate Libyan government as it works to bring the country together. But we also have to recognize that we must work more effectively in the future as an international community to build capacity for states that are in distress before they collapse."
Chinese President Xi Jinping
Global governance
Xi made statements that seemed designed to counter Western fears of a rising China.
“The future of the world must be shaped by all countries,” Xi said. “All countries are equals. The big, strong and rich should not bully the small, weak and poor.”
He also asserted China’s role as a counterpoint to developed nations, saying, “China’s vote in the U.N. will always belong to the developing countries.”
Fighting climate change
Xi also addressed the changing global climate and China’s “responsibility" to combat climate change.
He said China “will shoulder its share of responsibility and China will continue to play its part in this common endeavor,” but developed countries need to do their part.
The U.S. has historically emitted the largest amount of greenhouse gases.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Hypocrisy of the West
Putin spoke about how he thinks Western intervention--particularly recent military intervention by a coalition of Western nations in Libya--has led to turmoil instead of prosperity for the nation.
"Rather than bringing about reforms, an aggressive foreign interference has resulted in a flagrant destruction of national institutions and the lifestyle itself," Putin said. "Instead of a triumph of democracy and progress we got violence, poverty and a social disaster."
Fighting alongside the Syrian government
Putin also lashed out at the U.S. ahead of his Monday afternoon meeting with Obama.
“We think it is an enormous mistake to refuse to cooperate with the Syrian governments and its armed forces, who are valiantly fighting terrorism face-to-face,” Putin said. “We should finally acknowledge that no one but President Assad’s armed forces and Kurd militia are truly fighting the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations in Syria.”