Russia slams calls for its exclusion from UNSC, avers 'possible only if UN is disbanded'

Russia's Deputy Representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, on Friday stated that stripping off Moscow's permanent membership in the Security Council will only be possible if the organisation "was disbanded and created anew." Speaking in a live interview with Soloviev TV, Polyanskiy reprimanded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of trying to "stir up" the UNSC member states. The Russian envoy claimed that the Kyiv leadership is trying to inject newer angles into the issues that the UNSC members are "growing increasingly tired of."

"The UN officials have provided due clarification...this is total nonsense," Polyanskiy retorted, as quoted by TASS.

"Both Zelenskyy and Ukrainian envoy to the UN (Serhiy Kyslytsya) and wasting their breath claiming that time to time that Russia has no right to this (UNSC) seat...," Polyanskiy said.

The brutal remarks by the Russian representative to the UN came in response to Kyiv's repeated allegations against Moscow over "unlawfully" holding up the permanent membership of the UNSC despite the Soviet Union's collapse. During an earlier address to the UNSC, Zelenskyy urged the organisation to designate Russia as a "terrorist state" and oust it from the union.

"Naturally, all normal people realise that this scenario will be possible only if the UN is disbanded and created anew," Polyanskiy said as quoted by Soloviev Live TV.

For the unversed, Russia is one of the five permanent members, alongside the US, UK, China, and France, of the multinational organisation which according to experts dominates diplomacy in matters of war and peace in the UN. Russia and the four other members hold veto power to any resolution tabled before the council. It is to mention that Russia's removal from the UNSC is misguided as there is no mechanism in the UN Charter to uproot a permanent member. Removing a permanent member would require a resolution and then a majority vote on the same by the UN General Assembly, where Russia holds veto power.

Ukraine questions if Russia qualifies for 'permanent member'

The UN Security Council (UNSC) was established in 1945 with 10 non-permanent members and 5 permanent members (which included the Soviet Union and not specifically Russia). Referring to the same, Ukraine has repeatedly questioned Russia's eligibility to hold the UNSC seat as the UN Charter says it is the USSR and not Russia that is the "permanent member." However, why Russia got the seat is somewhat clarified with the majority of Soviet republics agreeing to the 1991 Alma-Ata Protocol, which allowed Moscow to take over the UNSC seat after the collapse of the USSR. The crux of the debate remains whether Russia is a "continuing state" or a "successor state" since the UN Charter was not amended after the signing of the 1991 decree.  

(Image: AP)