Russia is expected to chair a session of the United Nations Security Council as it continues its years-long war against neighboring Ukraine, drawing criticism from Ukrainian leaders in the process.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmation above The Security Council seat during an April meeting in New York was “a bad joke” as the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes.
“Russia’s chairmanship of the UN Security Council on April 1 is a bad joke. Russia has usurped its seat; it wages a colonial war; their leader is a war criminal wanted by the ICC for child kidnapping,” Kuleba said said on Twitter. “The world cannot be a safe place with Russia at UNSC #BadRussianJoke #InsecurityCouncil.”
The 15 member states of the UN Security Council rotate in the presidency every month. Only five seats on the council are permanent – those of the US, UK, France, China and Russia.
The Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Nations underscored the statements of the Secretary General of the international organization, António Guterres, who described the day of the Russian invasion as the saddest moment of his tenure as UN chief.
“Indeed the saddest in the history of the United Nations to April 1, 2023 when, if justice is not [Russia] takes over the presidency [the] Security Council. Stop the rape of the judiciary and the repeal of the UN Charter! Responsibility now!” Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya wrote on Twitter.
Ukrainian diplomat Olexander Scherba cried Russia takes over the Security Council “a bit like Jack the Ripper taking over the Department of Health”.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday that the administration expects Russia to “continue to use its seat on the council to spread disinformation,” and urged the country to “behave professionally” during his tenure as president behave,” according to the Portal report.
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“Unfortunately, Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and there is no viable international legal avenue to change this reality,” Jean-Pierre said.
Russia’s permanent seat on the Council — and with it the power to individually veto any resolution going through the international body — has long been an issue of concern, fueled by Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor. Last February, Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have called on Moscow to halt its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops.
The President of the Security Council is responsible for setting the body’s agenda and calling meetings, although the state is given no additional power over what goes through. Russia held the rotating presidency last February, the month of his invasion.
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