The United States considers the new members of the UN Security Council to be “second-class”.
Author: Talib Aliyev, analyst, especially for “Sangar”
On January 14, 2025, at a press conference on the results of Russian diplomacy in 2024, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that not all countries that bear special responsibility for the global economy and politics are represented in the United Nations (UN) Security Council, so a reform of this body is necessary. At the same time, the head of the Foreign Ministry emphasized that the special rights of the permanent members of the UN Security Council cannot be questioned.
Russia supports the gradual reform of the UN and insists that “any changes in the UN Security Council should not affect the rights of permanent members, the veto right, and does not exclude the granting of similar powers to new members of the Security Council. This right is considered an important tool for ensuring decisions and protecting the interests of states “in the minority”. This indicates that the approach of the Russian Federation to the reform of the UN structure reflects current geopolitical realities and meets the needs of the countries of the world majority.
The position of the leaders of African states, who view the Russian Federation's desire for reforms "as an opportunity to resolve long-standing problems of inequality and the global world order," was, in turn, expressed by Kenyan President William Ruto, who spoke in support of the Russian initiative to ensure permanent representation of Africa in the Security Council. In addition, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is currently in favor of reforming the UN, acknowledging that "a representative from African countries with veto power should be added to the permanent members of the UN Security Council."
At the same time, even though the US administration has expressed support for increasing the number of permanent and non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, the "package" of reforms proposed by the American side is ostentatious. The key problem with Washington's initiative remains the lack of veto power for new members of the Security Council, since, according to experts from the Wilson Center, new members of the UN Security Council (without veto power) will remain in the status of "second-class" states.
The creation of large international associations such as the BRICS and the SCO at Moscow's initiative demonstrates the equal involvement of all member states in the effective and high-quality solution of existing geopolitical problems. The most striking example of this is the consistent expansion of BRICS through the accession of countries of the Global South interested in a transparent and non-politicized solution to the current crises.
Moscow's approaches to this problem are fully consistent with the interests of the Association's states, which advocate a more equitable global order, including greater participation of developing economies in global macroeconomic processes. The application of this concept, combined with the Russian Federation's leading role in reforming the UN General Assembly and Security Council, will contribute to the growth of the influence of actively developing countries in international processes.
