Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade; Credit: Chronicle.lu

On Friday 25 September 2026, Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel held an online press conference following Luxembourg’s attendance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Minister Bettel, speaking from Luxembourg’s Consulate General in New York, spoke of his bi-lateral meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and remarked: “Mr Guterres said that if every country were like Luxembourg, the world would be doing much better. It is obviously a statement that makes you happy when you are told that Luxembourg is not only a good student but also believes in multilateralism.”

Minister Bettel also noted the “importance” of Grand Duke Guillaume’s speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday 22 September, which called for restoring trust and strengthening multilateralism at the UN.

In response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday 24 September, Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister revealed that he saw the speech, which resulted in several delegates walking out, as a “provocation”, and highlighted his regret that the Palestinian delegation were not granted authorisation to travel to New York for the General Assembly.

Minister Bettel remarked: “The UN has basically become - and we saw this with other politicians as well - a platform for offering one’s own audience almost an election rally, rather than actually addressing the international community. Instead of speaking to the world, you are essentially speaking to your own audience, almost as if at an election meeting, and that is a shame.”

During the press conference, Minister Bettel also referenced his talks with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha, during which they discussed Luxembourg’s efforts to have Russian Billionaire Mikhail Fridman removed from the EU’s sanctions list.

Minister Bettel stated: “Of course, this is a decision that is taken by Europe, and it is not for someone else to make. And I am pleased that we managed, as all 27 EU member states, to continue the sanctions package together. That was the important thing for me. But as I said, I discussed it with him. It would be hypocritical not to talk about it.”