Nebenzia: Russia cannot be stripped of permanent membership in the UN Security Council

Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, ruled out, today, Tuesday, the possibility of his country losing permanent membership in the UN Security Council.

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In statements to "Rossiya 24" TV channel, Nebenzia said in response to a question about whether it is possible to "strife" Russia from its seat as a permanent member of the Security Council: "No, this is impossible under the Charter of the United Nations."

After the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, stated that he had called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to deny Russia the right to vote in the Security Council. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba later said that Kyiv would launch the procedure for a "legal analysis" of the permanent membership institution.

For his part, Sergey Vershinin, Deputy Russian Foreign Minister, previously indicated that this Ukrainian initiative has no chance of verification, because making changes to the United Nations Charter requires that two-thirds of Member States support and agree to it, including all five permanent members of the Security Council (Russia, United States, China, Britain, France). Vershinin expressed the Russian Ministry's conviction that such a decision "will not pass."

The Security Council consists of 15 countries, 5 permanent members and 10 countries that are elected as non-permanent members of the Council for a period of two years by the United Nations General Assembly.

Source: "Novosti"