UNITED NATIONS, Oct 24 (NNN-Xinhua) — The president of the UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, said that he was saddened by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s refusal to meet him.
“I was saddened to learn that the mayor was unavailable to meet with me. This lack of interaction concerns me as policies devised by the City of New York directly affect the work of the United Nations and by extension millions of lives across the globe,” said Bozkir in a statement.
“Nevertheless, I will continue my work as president of the General Assembly of the United Nations, in the hopes of protecting the world’s most vulnerable populations and advancing efforts towards a healthier and more sustainable planet. I hope the City of New York will continue to be a strong partner in that regard,” he said.
Bozkir’s spokesman, Brenden Varma, told reporters that the meeting with de Blasio was requested around two weeks ago and the mayor’s office did not come back until a few days ago with a refusal. The mayor’s office did not give any specific reason, said Varma.
“He (Bozkir) was disappointed because he did reach out around two weeks ago to ask for an appointment with the mayor and received a response only a few days ago declining the meeting request,” said Varma. “For him it is very important to foster this kind of coordination between the top elected official of the United Nations and the top elected official of New York City so that we can make sure the General Assembly is functioning properly and everyone is safe.”
“He hopes that the mayor will understand how important this meeting was to him. … He really wants to make sure that the General Assembly is functioning as effectively as possible. That requires dialogue and coordination.”
In his statement, Bozkir highlighted the deep ties that have always existed between the United Nations and the City of New York.
“The United Nations has been proud to call the city its home since the middle of the last century. We are happy to generate billions of dollars in economic benefits and tens of thousands of jobs in New York City. Through our presence, it is a privilege to contribute to and enhance New York’s status as a cosmopolitan and dynamic global city.”
COVID-19 has deeply hurt New Yorkers, including the UN staff and delegates who consider the city to be their hometown. In order to defeat the virus, the United Nations and New York must collaborate more closely than ever, he said.
“It was in that context that I requested a meeting with the mayor of New York City. The pandemic requires communications at the highest level. As the representative of 193 countries and a leader of one of the city’s most politically significant resident bodies, I consider it necessary to foster dialogue and coordination between our two administrations,” he said.
The New York City’s international affairs commissioner, Penny Abeywardena, said in a statement that she was “surprised and saddened” by Bozkir’s statement.
Abeywardena did not offer any explanation, only saying that de Blasio has an excellent relationship with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and that over the course of the de Blasio administration, the City of New York has had a deeply collaborative relationship with Bozkir’s predecessors.
Varma, Bozkir’s spokesman, said the General Assembly president requested an in-person meeting to convey messages from UN member states privately to de Blasio.
The mayor’s office offered Bozkir a meeting with the international affairs commissioner. But Bozkir wanted to talk to the mayor himself, said Varma.
The spokesman indicated that Bozkir might have had the intention to ask de Blasio for flexibility for diplomats to travel to New York for UN General Assembly meetings.
“The president has already been very vocal about the need to have the General Assembly function as normally as it was in the past. He’s been pushing for in-person meetings. And the General Assembly plenary has already been having in-person meetings. This is something that the president would definitely like to see continue,” he said. “He feels like in-person diplomacy is key to how the UN operates and how the UN helps people around the world. So of course this is something that the president has been pushing for and will continue to push for, both here in New York and elsewhere as well.”
Bozkir is requesting a meeting with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and is waiting to hear back, said Varma. — NNN-XINHUA
