New York: In a notable development for international diplomacy, Russia has officially supported India’s long-standing demand for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). This announcement, made on Saturday, adds to a growing list of countries—including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Bhutan, Portugal, and Chile—that have recently endorsed India’s bid.
During his address at the 79th United Nations General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized the need for a “fairer world order” that necessitates the expansion of representation for the Global South within the UNSC.
“We are not stepping away from dialogue with the West. In July, upon the proposal of Russia, there was an open debate in the Security Council on the subject of building a more just, more sustainable world order. We believe it is important to begin the discussion that has begun in the UN as well as in other platforms. A fairer world order undoubtedly requires the expansion of the representation of the Global South in the UN Security Council,” Lavrov stated.
While advocating for both India and Brazil to gain permanent seats, Lavrov firmly opposed adding new positions for Western countries, arguing that they are already over-represented in the Security Council. “We support our position in favour of the candidacies of Brazil and India, while at the same time taking a positive decision on the well-known initiatives of the African Union. However, of course, we cannot even talk about any additional seats for Western countries, who are already excessively over-represented within the Security Council,” he added.
India has long sought a permanent seat in the UNSC to better represent the interests of the developing world, a campaign that has recently gained traction due to international support. On Friday, Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay also expressed backing for India’s UNSC bid.
In his remarks, Lavrov accused Western nations of undermining the principles of globalization, citing their imposition of sanctions against various countries and the use of the dollar as a “weapon”. “Just like Ban Ki-moon and Kofi Annan in the past, the current Secretary-General advanced his own initiative under the slogan ‘rebooting global cooperation.’ It is an excellent slogan; who could be opposed to that?” he remarked.
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“But, what global cooperation can we really talk about at a time when the West has trampled all of these unshakeable values of globalization that they have been telling us about for so many years? They have tried to convince us that they would ensure equal access for everyone to the goods of contemporary civilization, where is the inviolability of property, the presumption of innocence, freedom of speech, access to information, and fair competition in markets with understandable and changing rules?” Lavrov added.
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He also described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula as “hopeless,” urging Russia’s partners to consider the real causes of the situation in Ukraine. “We value the sincere aim of a number of our partners to advance mediation initiatives. We value their constructive focus on results, unlike the hopeless Zelenskyy peace formula. We call upon friends in their further efforts to fully take into account the facts about the real causes of the situation,” he said.
Zelenskyy had presented Ukraine’s 10-point peace formula to global leaders at the G20 Summit in Indonesia’s Bali in 2022. This plan includes a pathway to nuclear safety, food security, the establishment of a special tribunal for alleged Russian war crimes, and a final peace treaty with Moscow.
