Kremlin Backs Security Council Expansion But Defends Veto Powers
The Kremlin says the Security Council needs reform and could admit new permanent members, but insists the veto — which has blocked action on Ukraine — must remain.
Russia supports reforming the UN Security Council to admit more permanent members, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, while rejecting proposals to abolish the veto that Moscow has repeatedly used to shield its aggression from international censure. "We believe that the Security Council certainly needs to be reformed," Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told reporters at his daily briefing.
Peskov nevertheless made clear that Moscow regards the existing structure of permanent membership, and the veto that comes with it, as untouchable. "This institution of permanent Security Council members, as well as the right of veto, is a very important element of the entire structure of the United Nations," he said. "And we maintain our commitment to this very important element."
His remarks followed renewed calls from Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to abolish both permanent membership and the veto privilege ahead of the 81st UN General Assembly. The Security Council has been paralysed on a series of critical issues in recent years amid deep divisions between its five veto-wielding permanent members: France, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and the United States. Russia's veto has prevented the council from taking action to end its war in Ukraine — a war that Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion of its neighbour and continues to wage despite widespread international condemnation.
On Monday, a French-Mexican initiative to restrict permanent members from using their veto in cases of mass atrocities gained momentum after the United Kingdom signed on, leaving the non-binding declaration one vote short of a two-thirds majority among UN members. The measure would, if adopted, constrain the very instrument Moscow has deployed to block scrutiny of its campaign in Ukraine, including its strikes on civilian infrastructure and its occupation of sovereign Ukrainian territory.
At the General Assembly this week, the 15-member Security Council, which also includes non-permanent members, may hold high-level meetings on artificial intelligence and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, including talks with Arab leaders, diplomats said. Any such discussions on Ukraine will proceed against the backdrop of Russia's continued assault on the country, now in its fifth year, and the steadfast resistance of the Ukrainian people, who have endured Moscow's brutal campaign while defending their sovereignty against an unprovoked invasion.