Trump blasts UN for not helping U.S.-led peace efforts, but backs it 100%

By Gram Slattery and Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump slammed the United Nations on Tuesday for failing to support American-led peace efforts, but then reassured U.N. chief Antonio Guterres that the United States "100%" backs the world body. 

"I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help," Trump told the 193-member General Assembly, repeating disputed claims about his role as a global peacemaker. "The United Nations wasn't there for us." 

Trump’s remarks reflect his long-standing wariness of multilateral institutions, particularly the United Nations. He has repeatedly questioned the effectiveness, cost and accountability of international bodies, arguing they often fail to serve U.S. interests. 

"What is the purpose of the United Nations? The U.N. has such tremendous potential ... but it's not even coming close to living up to that potential," Trump said in a nearly hour-long speech to the annual gathering of world leaders in New York. 

"All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. It's empty words, and empty words don't solve war. The only thing that solves war and wars is action," he said.  

After his speech, Trump met with U.N. Secretary-General Guterres for the first time since returning to office in January.

"Our country is behind the United Nations 100%," Trump told Guterres. "I may disagree with it sometimes, but I am so behind it, because I think the potential for peace with this institution is so great."

Guterres told him the U.N. was "entirely at your disposal to be able to work together for a just peace."

NO CARROTS, NO STICKS 

Guterres last week defended the U.N. as having "very strong efforts in peace mediation ... but we have no carrots and no sticks."

The U.N. Security Council is the only U.N. body that can impose sanctions, but it has been deadlocked on the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine because the U.S. and Russia are veto powers.

"The United States has carrots and sticks. So in some situations, if you are able to combine the two, I think we can have a very effective way to make sure that some peace process at least can lead to a successful result," Guterres told reporters.

Trump wants to slash U.S. funding for the U.N., has stopped U.S. engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and quit the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.

Guterres is seeking ways to improve efficiency and cut costs as the world body turns 80 this year amid a cash crisis. Washington is the U.N.'s largest contributor - followed by China - accounting for 22% of the core U.N. budget and 27% of the peacekeeping budget. The U.N. has said the U.S. currently owes a total of $2.8 billion, of which $1.5 billion is for the regular budget. These payments are not voluntary.

In a moment of levity, Trump jokingly complained that a U.N. escalator had abruptly stopped as he and First Lady Melania Trump were halfway up and then the teleprompter in the General Assembly did not work. 

"I can only say that whoever's operating this teleprompter is in big trouble," he said. “These are the two things I got from the United Nations — a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter." 

However, a U.N. official said the White House had operated its own teleprompter. After Trump finished speaking, U.N. General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said: "The U.N. teleprompters are working perfectly."

(Reporting By Gram Slattery, Jarrett Renshaw and Michelle Nichols; Writing by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Wallis)