French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the General Debate of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 19, 2017. The General Assembly of the United Nations on Tuesday kicked off its annual general debate, with heads of state and government representatives gathering at the UN headquarters to present their views about pressing world issues. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday defended the Paris Agreement on climate change and asked concerned parties to retain the Iran nuclear deal.
"This (Paris) agreement is not up for re-negotiation, we will not back-track," Macron told the UN General Assembly, shortly after a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump, whose decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement has startled the world.
"I fully respect the decision of the United States. The door will always be open," said Macron, who spoke for the first time at the United Nations. "We must shoulder our responsibility. The planet will not negotiate with us."
On Iran, he said the international agreement reached in July 2015 between Tehran and the six countries of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States was a "solid, robust agreement that verifies that Iran will not build a nuclear weapon."
"Renouncing it would be a grave error, not respecting it would be irresponsible," he warned.
Trump, in his speech, slashed Iran, calling the Iran nuclear deal an "embarrassment to the United States."
The General Assembly of the United Nations on Tuesday kicked off its annual general debate, with heads of state and government representatives gathering at the UN headquarters to present their views about pressing world issues.
