Russia used veto in UN Security Council twice as many times as any other permanent member – MFA

Russia is systematically blocking the decisions of the United Nations. Since 1991, Russia has used its veto in the UN Security Council 31 times, almost twice as many as any other permanent member of the Security Council.

The relevant statement was issued by the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry regarding the legitimacy of Russia’s presence in the UN, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“Clear examples of this abuse of the veto power were the blocking of a resolution to establish a tribunal to investigate the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17; recognition of mass killings in Srebrenica as genocide and a prerequisite for national reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina; response to the political and humanitarian situation in Venezuela; extension of the mandate of the UN observation mission in Georgia at a critical moment for the country; strengthening of the sanctions regime against the DPRK, as well as 16 resolutions on Syria. At the current stage of aggression, the Russian Federation, convinced of its impunity, turned to blackmailing the international community by threatening to use nuclear weapons,” the statement reads.

According to the ministry, the right of the Russian Federation to join the UN in general is also doubtful, as it failed to meet the main criteria for membership in the Organization. Paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the Charter clearly states that membership in the UN is open to all peace-loving states.

Three decades of Russia’s illegal presence in the UN have been marked by wars and seizure of other countries’ territories, forceful change of internationally recognized borders, and attempts to satisfy its invasive and neo-imperial ambitions, the ministry stressed.

In particular, Ukraine is currently suffering from a full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation, which was preceded by 8 years of Russian armed aggression.

The war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine is a violation of the goals and principles of the UN Charter unprecedented since its signing in 1945 and deprives Russia of the right to be called a peace-loving state, the ministry emphasized.

At the same time, Russia ignores any attempts of the international community aimed at its return to the principles of international law and the principle of peace-loving.

The ministry also pointed out the war crimes committed by Russia far beyond the borders of Ukraine.

“It is also about the continuation of the USSR’s policy of illegal occupation of Japan’s Northern Islands, as well as fueling instability on the territory of the former USSR – Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Transnistria and Nagorno-Karabakh, manipulations on the issue of alleged discrimination of Russian-speaking populations in countries of the Baltic and Black Sea region, attempted coup d’état in Montenegro,” the ministry noted.

In addition, Ukrainian diplomats recalled Russia’s armed aggression against the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, occupation of its territories and the crime of genocide of the Chechen people, as well as Russia’s support of the criminal regime of Bashar Assad and numerous crimes against the Syrian people.

“It is only a matter of time when the actions of the Russian Federation will destroy the entire UN system – a single and unique global intergovernmental institution that unites all the countries of the world at the negotiating table,” the ministry said.

A reminder that, on December 26, 2022, Ukraine initiated a complex process in order to deprive Russia of its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to exclude it from the United Nations as a whole.

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