RUSSIA’S presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) earned the ire of the European Union and the rage of Ukraine.
Moscow’s UNSC leadership, which it assumed on Saturday, comes amid its offensive in Ukraine.
The bloody conflict has racked up military costs and impacted the global economy and the lives of civilians and soldiers alike.
Zelenskyy on Saturday blasted Russia’s leadership of the UN council as obviously absurd and destructive, and that the assumption of the position prompted the Ukrainian president to call out the UN’s move to allow Russia to lead the council.
“Today, the terrorist state began to chair the UN Security Council. Yesterday, the Russian army killed another Ukrainian child, a 5-month-old named Danilo from Avidyivka, in Donbas, together with his parent who was injured. Russian artillery, one of the hundreds of artillery strikes that the terrorist state launches every day. At the same time, Russia chairs the UN Security Council. It’s hard to imagine something evident that proves the complete bankruptcy of such institutions. There’s no such form of terror that has not yet been committed by Russia” said Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine.
Zelenskyy also seems to call for reforms in the UN Council that would ban Russia from being able to lead it.
“The reform is clearly overdue. So that a terrorist state or any other state that wants to be a terrorist can’t disrupt the peace. Terrorists must lose, and must be held accountable for terror, and not preside anywhere,” added Zelenskyy.
Meanwhile, UNSC Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski, said that Western countries have failed in their efforts to make Russia a Pariah on the global stage and that Russia’s presidency serves as proof that in international organizations, this mechanism of isolating Russia does not work as it should.
“It’s not funny at all because unfortunately, it serves as proof that in international organizations, this mechanism of isolating Russia does not work as it should,” said Pawel Jablonski, UNSC Polish Deputy Foreign Minister.
He then suggested that Russia should be excluded or suspended from the UN and the Security Council.
It can be noted that the UNSC has 15 members, and Russia is one of the Council’s 5 permanent members.
These 5 permanent members, including Russia, have the power and right of Veto, making Russia’s exclusion and suspension as UNSC president virtually impossible.
Aside from Russia, among the 5 permanent members include France, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, and China.
Meanwhile, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell has said that Russia taking the lead over the UNSC is fitting for ‘April Fool’s Day’, and promised that the European Union will stand against any abuse by the Russian presidency.
But Russia remains defiant, with Russia’s mission to the EU saying that Moscow’s presidency over the council is a reality that the EU is reluctant to accept, and that such a reaction is a way of demonstrating the EU’s unreadiness to be a global player.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country is now viewing the EU as an unfriendly association and that the bloc has already lost Moscow.
“The European Union has ‘lost’ Russia. However, it is its own making. Exactly the EU member-states and leaders of the union openly state the need of inflicting the strategic defeat to Russia, as they say,” according to Lavrov.
Lavrov also called Ukraine ‘The Criminal Kyiv regime’ being filled by the EU.
“With weapons and munitions and send instructors and mercenaries to Ukraine, and these are the reasons why Russia considers the EU to be the unfriendly association,” said Lavrov.
Lavrov stressed that his country made necessary conclusions from the said situation, warning that Russia will act in response to hostile steps.
“Decidedly if necessary, being governed by national interests of Russia and the reciprocity principle commonly adopted in the diplomatic practice,” according to Lavrov.
