UNITED NATIONS (AP) — China and Russia had their turns on the podium at the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday, but — as usual — their top leaders did not speak. Instead, they turned to their foreign ministers, WANG YI and Sergei Lavrov.

Wang’s speech, as usual in the case of China at the UN, did not bring much new information. He stressed the importance of national sovereignty – a frequent topic of conversation in Beijing – and, as usual, insisted that Taiwan indisputably belongs to China.

Wang warned other leaders against “expanding the battlefield” in Russia’s war with Ukraine and said the government in Beijing remains committed to transfer diplomacy and efforts to bring the conflict to an end. He warned other nations “not to add fuel to the fire or take advantage of the situation for selfish purposes,” which the United States likely meant.

Meanwhile, Lavrov entered the topic of nuclear weapons three days after Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN announced a change in his country’s nuclear doctrine: “I will not talk here about the senselessness and danger of the very idea of ​​trying to fight for victory against a nuclear power like Russia,” he said. .

Later during a press conference, he accused the United States of seeking to “preserve hegemony and rule everything.” He pointed to NATO’s deepening relations with four partners – New Zealand, Australia, South Korea and Japan – as well as the so-called Quad bringing together the USA, India, Australia and Japan.

ELOQUENCE BLUE RIBBON: Grenadian leader DICKON MITCHELL got very personal in his resilience speech, turning it into a mini memoir that began with his birth in a small hilltop village with no running water or electricity. He then told the story of his nation – and the resilience of its people – through his eyes. “My personal resilience in the face of many difficulties that have come my way over the years has allowed me to achieve the dream I was looking for. I was finally able to give back to my community,” he said. However, he stressed: “There is a limit to resilience.” He also called on citizens of smaller nations like his to have greater access to digital education, skills training “and the tools they need to compete in the global economy.”

ALL-ROUND PESIMISM: “The Middle East is entering one of its darkest hours,” said Norwegian Prime Minister ESPEN BARTH EIDE in his speech. He was referring to Israeli leader BENJAMIN NETANYAHU’s comments that people are either with Israel or against it. “We saw that I didn’t like the ending before.”

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“We just want to manage these crises, not solve them.”

—PRINCE FAISAL BIN FARHAN AL-SAUD, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia

“Empowering women means enhancing prosperity for all.”

—Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia RETNO LESTARI PRIANSARI MARSUDI

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“The increasingly visible interconnections between global challenges highlight the need for Member States to work together, now more than ever, to overcome them.”

—LUCA BECCARI, Minister of Foreign Affairs of San Marino

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“If you try too hard to get rid of a pesky frog, it will eventually make its home in your pond.”

—Deputy Prime Minister of Mali ABDOULAYE MAIGA, quoting a saying of national literary figure Amadou Hampâté Ba. The reference to unintended consequences came during Maiga’s discussion on regional policy.

YOU HAD ONE JOB: Have you ever felt like you had to do everything at work? You have nothing on Mitchell from Grenada. As a reminder, his title is: “Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Physical Development, Municipal Affairs, Civil Aviation and Transport and Minister of National Security, Internal Affairs, Public Administration, Information and Disaster Management.” I hate seeing his absence note.

As of Tuesday, Wang noted that the number of years China’s communist government has been in power: 75

“If we continue like this, the state of the world will only get worse.”

—Indian Foreign Minister SUBRAHMANYAM JAISHANKAR

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“We are all used to third-rate series and movies on YouTube. It teaches us to receive information in this simplified way, which forces us to forget the truths that many humanists and great authors have written in the past.

— Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus MAKSIM RYZHENKOV, then mentioning the works of writers O. Henry, Graham Greene and Kurt Vonnegut

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“Science without conscience is the ruin of the soul.”

—AMADOU OURY BAH, President of Guinea

After five days of non-stop oratory, Sunday is a day off from speeches by leaders of the United Nations and General Assembly. The final list of speakers for Monday includes North Korea and Syria.

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AP writers Edith M. Lederer and Ted Anthony contributed. See more AP coverage of the U.N. General Assembly at https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations