Ukraineʼs statement that Russia is illegally occupying the seat of a permanent member of the UN Security Council came as a surprise to some countries.
This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba.
He noted that in a number of capitals, they were surprised to learn about the illegal presence of Russia in the Security Council. According to Kuleba, this fact was ignored for 30 years.
"Now Ukraine has stirred up this beehive," the head of the MFA emphasized.
According to him, several countries have already supported Ukraine in this matter, others have made it clear that they share its point of view, but have not yet spoken about it publicly, and others are carefully studying the situation and raising archives.
"In fact, we have started the process of delegitimizing Russiaʼs presence in the UN Security Council," Kuleba noted.
He added that Ukraine is preparing for the next steps in this direction. The state is working not only on regular official statements, but also on a broad public advocacy campaign.
- Ukraine initiated a process aimed at excluding Russia from the Security Council and the UN in general, because it "occupied" the USSRʼs place there.
- Russia always blocks resolutions regarding aggression against Ukraine, so the Ukrainian side asks to exclude Russia from the UN Security Council. In September of this year, the head of the European Council called for Russia to be stripped of its membership, and the United States supported the idea of reforming the work of the Security Council, proposing to change the rules for applying the right of veto, as well as its composition.
- According to the Vice-Chancellor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Myrta Vollmer, most of the member states of the UN Security Council do not share Ukraineʼs desire to exclude Russia from this body.