Macron defends multilateralism, Paris Agreement

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, as much anticipated, strongly defended multilateralism and the Paris Agreement on climate change at the ongoing General Debate of the 73rd UN General Assembly.

"I do not accept the erosion of multilateralism and don't accept our history unraveling," Macron said. "Our children are watching."

The French President urged "dialogue and multilateralism" to resolve the world's crises in his speech, Xinhua news agency reported.

Unilateralism will not work to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as well, he said, while touching upon some of the hot issues across the world.

"What can resolve the crisis between Israel and Palestine? Not unilateral initiatives, nor trampling on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to legitimate peace," he noted.

Without multilateralism, Macron said, global wars would return. He cautioned that "nationalism always leads to defeat."

When talking about the Paris Agreement on climate change, the president said: "We will no longer sign commercial agreements with powers that do not respect the Paris accord."

--IANS

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