See in photos: Key points from the first day of the United Nations General Assembly

This week, world leaders gathered in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly. Topics range from the US-Iran war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the fragile ceasefire in Gaza and the risks posed by artificial intelligence.

On Tuesday, nearly 130 heads of state and government began taking to the stage, including US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will also attend.

Midtown Manhattan is suffocated by convoys, road closures and security details for visiting leaders. Inside UN headquarters, delegates face a week of consecutive speeches and sideline meetings.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be absent from the General Assembly, but will head to Washington on Wednesday to attend a high-level summit with President Trump. The leaders of India and Russia are also distancing themselves.

President Trump told world leaders at the General Assembly on Tuesday that they face a “big decision”: whether to reach a deal with Iran or “annihilate” the Islamic Republic. He later told reporters that U.S. officials held a “very good” three-hour meeting with Iranian envoys on the sidelines, reviving fragile hopes for a diplomatic exit from the seven-month war.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has laid out a three-part plan for “peaceful coexistence” with North Korea. The paper urges North Korea to “first halt its nuclear program” before scaling back its nuclear program.

Brazil’s Lula spoke first, as is traditional in Brazil. “Brazilian democracy belongs to the Brazilian people,” Lula said. “Brazil is no one’s backyard,” he said, adding that the United Nations “has failed in one of its highest missions: to save humanity from the scourge of war.”

President Trump also signed a security agreement with Denmark and Greenland that expands U.S. military access to Denmark’s semi-autonomous territory of Greenland.

President Trump then spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for about 40 minutes. He advocated for an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and supported a ban on U.S. diesel exports as fuel prices hit record levels ahead of the midterm elections.

French President Emmanuel Macron gave his own speech to the United Nations. “There can be no peace without justice,” he said. After meeting with President Trump, he promised to push for a moratorium on strikes against Ukraine’s energy grid.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Gaza “the most inhumane and most shameful concentration camp of modern times” and urged the Israeli delegation to leave. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to address a rally via video after being denied a US visa.