We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Russia, Sudan & the power of diplomacy
Can diplomacy solve the world’s most urgent crises?
GZERO World travels to UN headquarters in New York for a special conversation with US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield ahead of the United States taking over the presidency of the Security Council for the month of August.
The United States has a lot of priorities for the session, including food security, human rights, and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. But with Russia a permanent, veto-wielding member of one of the world’s most powerful diplomatic bodies, how much can really get done?
“What Russia is doing undermines everything that the UN stands for,” Thomas-Greenfield told Bremmer in an interview with Ian Bremmer from the floor of the Security Council chamber. “They are undermining the work of this council by carrying out this unprovoked war on Ukraine.”
Thomas-Greenfield spoke with Bremmer about the contentious relationship with Russia, worries about the world’s food supply after the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal, and the urgency of addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
Can the countries of the world put aside their differences and competing interests to effectively deal with the most pressing international security challenges? And what else does the US hope to accomplish during its Council presidency in August?
Watch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld or on US public television. Check local listings.
- As Sudan war worsens, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield says UN must help ›
- Russia kills Ukraine grain deal ›
- Russia's exit from Black Sea grain deal will drive up food prices ›
- Ian Explains: Why Russia has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council ›
- Podcast: UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Russia, human rights, & the Security Council presidency ›
- Episode 8: Global food (in)security ›
- Is the global food crisis here to stay? ›
- Can the US be a global leader on human rights? - GZERO Media ›
Hard truths on climate, education & poverty, from the UN’s Secretary-General
(Portions of this full interview have also been shown as part of the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer episode, "How A War-Distracted World Staves Off Irreversible Damage," available to view here.
Global political division, a culture of impunity and a vacuum of consequences ... Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine making climate change a “kind of second-order issue” (even as 50 million Pakistanis have been displaced by flooding, and more than 1,000 killed) - with "irreversible consequences" and "irreparable damage" coming "very soon" - "a world that is facing destruction everywhere" ... the threat that the world may not have enough food in 2023 due to fertilizer shortages ... there's a lot of bad news in the world, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres discusses with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
Still, there are paths to solutions - as with the grain deal that Guterres helped to (discreetly) broker between Russia and Ukraine - if only the world's leaders will work together.
Explaining: the history of the UN headquarters
Before it became the headquarters of global cooperation, the site of the UN headquarters in New York was known for its foul smell. That's because slaughterhouses lined the block.
The UN buildings were designed by 11 architects and built in 1947 for the equivalent of $130.2 million in today's money. The territory belongs to no government, and it has its own police force, Ian Bremmer explains on GZERO World.
UN headquarters also features the famous Hall or Flags or the huge General Assembly Hall, where South Korean boy band BTS performed last year, and a first-rate art collection.