Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to chair UN Security Council debate on effective multilateralism, says envoy
Mar 31, 2023
New York [US], March 31 : Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will chair an open debate at the UN Security Council on April 24 to discuss the contours of the new world order and effective multilateralism in defence of the organization's Charter principles as part of Russia's chairmanship of the UN Security Council, Moscow's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said in an interview with TASS on Friday.
"We expect Sergey Lavrov to arrive in New York in the second half of April. He will chair an open debate on April 24 on the topic of effective multilateralism through the defence of the principles of the UN Charter. Our idea is to hold a comprehensive, forward-looking strategic discussion about the contours of a new world order that is coming to replace the unipolar one," he pointed out.
"We call on UN members to look beyond the horizon of the current moment and present their vision of how we could build a truly multipolar world through joint efforts, in which the interests of all states would be guaranteed. To do this, it is important to discuss the topic of protecting the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including the sovereign equality of states. This conversation is long overdue," the Russian envoy added.
Earlier on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing also reiterated Moscow's stance regarding multilateralism.
According to her, this issue is becoming more and more relevant against the backdrop of increasingly active attempts by a number of countries to subordinate the UN exclusively to their interests, and in the future to "completely undermine the UN-centric system of international relations," replacing it with the odious concept of "a rules-based world order." "Let me remind you that no one has ever seen the rules," she said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has called for Russia to be removed from Security Council over the military operation launched in February last year and condemned its presidency next month as a 'bad joke'.
Ukraine earlier criticised the upcoming change in the presidency at the UN Security Council.
Russian UN Security Council presidency on April 1 is a bad joke,' Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
"Russia has usurped its seat; it's waging a colonial war; its leader is a war criminal wanted by the ICC for kidnapping children," Kuleba said.
The presidency rotates every month between the 15 member states. Russia last chaired the council in February 2022. In April, Russia assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council.
Russia would hold little influence on the decisions but would be in charge of setting the agenda of the international body.
During Russia's chairmanship in the UNSC, a meeting of the council is planned to be held on the violation of military products export agreements, Zakharova said.
As one of the central events during this period, our delegation plans to hold a meeting of the Security Council on April 10 on the topic 'risks generated by the violation of agreements on the regulation of military products exports.' In the current conditions, we are convinced of the need for a thorough analysis of the consequences of non-compliance with contractual obligations for the so-called end user in military supplies, as well as discussion of ways to counter such destructive steps," Zakharova said.
