It is in the interest of everybody to have a global compromise, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday.

Guterres made the remarks at a press conference held ahead of the high-level week of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.

Beginning on Sept. 18, world leaders and delegates will gather at the United Nations headquarters in New York to participate in a series of high-level meetings and events.

“My appeal to world leaders will be clear,” Guterres said. “This is not a time for posturing or positioning. This is not a time for indifference or indecision. This is a time to come together for real, practical solutions. It is time for compromise for a better tomorrow.”

“Politics is compromise. Diplomacy is compromise. Effective leadership is compromise,” he added.

The world leaders are gathering at a time when humanity faces huge challenges, from the worsening climate emergency to escalating conflicts, the global cost-of-living crisis, soaring inequalities and dramatic technological disruptions, said Guterres.

“People are looking to their leaders for a way out of this mess. Yet in the face of all this and more, geopolitical divisions are undermining our capacity to respond,” he said.