Russia takes the reins of the UN Security Council, to Ukrainian outcry

Russia assumed the presidency of the UN Security Council over the weekend, even as the invasion of Ukraine continues to escalate.

The last time Moscow presided over an agency tasked with “maintaining international peace and security” was in February 2022, the month it invaded Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the situation a “bad joke” on Thursday.

“Frankly, I can’t think of a better joke on April Fool’s Day. A country that systematically violated all the basic rules of international security has created an organization whose sole mission is to protect international security.” I preside over it,” Kleba told the Chatham House event in a video. Link from Kyiv.

“I do not believe that the balance within the Security Council can be altered during Russia’s presidency. I don’t think it will be possible to secure enough information ‘number of votes to force the Council to make a decision, especially on matters related to Ukraine. ”

The Russian Federation inherited from the Soviet Union its seat as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council with unanimous support in 1992, and thus retains veto power over its recommendations.

The Presidency rotates monthly among the 15 members, the other five permanent members are China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the 10 non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.

The five permanent members have veto powers. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russia vetoed resolutions aimed at ending the war, while China, India and the UAE abstained.

This means that while the presidency will not pass pro-Russian commitments and the role is largely seen as procedural, Moscow can set the agenda for next month’s debate, which it Using it advances a pro-Russian narrative which means you are expected to use it.

“Whole body blow”

Ukrainian officials and many international observers and members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have called for Russia to be excluded from its membership, and in recent weeks have vetoed Western permanent members to the presidency. I am asking for

However, the United States argued that it was bound by the UN Charter, which does not allow the expulsion of permanent members.

“Unfortunately, Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and there is no viable international legal avenue to change that reality,” White House spokesperson Carine Jean-Pierre said last week in Washington. said at a press conference in

But the holding of the presidency in a country that is currently the subject of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for war crimes charges raises serious questions about its purpose.

Ambassador Nebenzya in Moscow recently told Russia’s TASS news agency that he intends to oversee several discussions, including those on a “New World Order” that he claims will “replace the unipolar regime.” I said yes. years of American hegemony.

“This Presidency states that international security cannot function if a country that has illegally acquired a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council presides over an institution during a major act of aggression. Another sovereign member of the United Nations and another founding member,” Kreba said.

“The best we can do is spend the next few months really highlighting the problems that exist in multilateralism and what Russia is using to its advantage.”

His anger was echoed on Saturday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said of Russia’s ascension to chairman, “It’s hard to imagine anything more obvious than proving the complete bankruptcy of such an institution.” said.

President Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote on Twitter over the weekend that the situation was “another symbolic blow to the rules-based system of international relations.”