German Foreign Ministry opposes depriving Russia of UN Security Council veto

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has opposed Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposal to reform the UN Security Council and in particular to deprive Russia of its veto, which is paralysing the organisation.

Source: European Pravda, citing an interview Baerbock gave to TV channel ARD 

Details: Baerbock says Berlin "does not support" depriving Russia of its Security Council veto, "and I have clearly and repeatedly spoken about this to my Ukrainian interlocutors".

"It is not the case that we support everything that comes from the government of Ukraine. This is also important for discussions in Germany," Baerbock said.

She also expressed reservations about Zelenskyy's proposal to give Germany a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

"We can't say: Okay, just change the Security Council. That would be somewhat naive," the German minister believes, recalling that there are a number of other countries that would be candidates for permanent Security Council membership.

Background: In his speech to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a reform of the organisation: increasing the number of Security Council members; enabling the General Assembly to overrule the Security Council's veto; and introducing a mechanism for preventing aggression through sanctions.

The issue of reforming the UN Security Council is particularly acute given Russia’s full-scale invasion, since Russia can use its veto to block any decisions that will hold it accountable for violating international law.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!