UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Latest on the United Nations General Assembly (all times local):
9:00 a.m.
Moscow is expected to use its address to world leaders to enshrine Russia as a counterweight to U.S. influence in areas from the Mideast to Venezuela and the Korean peninsula.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has held a flurry of bilateral meetings at the United Nations this week and has loudly defended Russia's strategies in meetings at the Security Council.
Syria has been Russia's running theme, as Moscow seeks to manage the end of the civil war and ensure a long-term foothold in the region.
Russia is Syrian President Bashar Assad's longtime patron and wants Western financing for Syria's reconstruction while maintaining the upper hand in discussions on Syria's political future.
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7:00 a.m.
The two countries that the United States has accused of interfering with its elections are taking take their turns at the podium at the United Nations' annual gathering of world leaders.
Major powers China and Russia — neither of which sent their most senior leader to the U.N. General Assembly — will put forth their foreign ministers to tell their stories.
The accusations against China came this week from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said he has evidence but so far has not released any. In contrast, Russia has been the focus of a special counsel investigation, which Trump has lambasted as a political "witch hunt."
