From September 19 to 26, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will work at the UN. He will represent Russia at the so-called High Level Week.
Photo: REUTERS
From September 19 to 26, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will work at the UN. He will represent Russia at the so-called High Level Week.
Many are mistaken in believing that the next UN General Assembly begins from this moment. In fact, the 78th session began on September 5. But it is precisely the High Level Week that each year arouses maximum interest in the world media. After all, almost the entire world’s geopolitical elite comes to New York for seven days. And the city itself becomes a kind of modern Babylon for a week.
What event will be key during Lavrov’s visit to New York?
– During this period, Sergey Lavrov will participate in a series of multilateral events, including through the UN Security Council, BRICS, CSTO and the Group of Friends for the Defense of the UN Charter. In addition, he intends to hold around twenty bilateral meetings… A conversation with the UN Secretary General is also planned… The key event of Sergei Lavrov’s stay in New York will be his speech on September 23 during the general political debate at the UN General Assembly, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, told reporters.
At the same time he especially highlighted that the Russian delegation “together with like-minded people will promote a whole series of initiatives on key international issues.”
“Russia will present draft traditional resolutions of the UN General Assembly in such important areas as strengthening the architecture of arms control and non-proliferation, preventing the militarization of space, forming universal rules of conduct in the information space and countering the glorification of Nazism. ”Zajárova explained.
What does Joe Biden intend to offer to UN members?
Meanwhile, the day before the start of High Level Week, the White House announced that the US president intends to raise the issue of making changes to the architecture of the UN Security Council.
“We are very clear that the time has come to evaluate the architecture of the UN Security Council,” Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said ahead of the US leader’s upcoming speech at the UN General Assembly.
What option to expand the UN Security Council is considered unacceptable in our country?
Moscow is also very clear in commenting on proposals to expand the UN Security Council.
– It would be logical to expand the composition of the UN Security Council by including new members from developing countries. Those that are now called states of the global South. These are, for example, India or Brazil. South Africa, maybe. To, so to speak, demonstrate the new role of the countries of the global South in world politics. As for the desire to include Germany and Japan in the UN Security Council, I think it is a completely unacceptable option,” former UN Deputy Secretary General Sergei Ordzhonikidze said on Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda.
Why will there be no expansion without Russia’s consent?
With expansion, Ordzhonikidze added, difficulties will naturally arise. “Because there must be a candidate from each region. And if Brazil becomes a candidate for its region, the question will immediately arise, for example, from Mexico and Argentina: why not them?” – He explained.
At the same time, Russia, de facto, has the right to veto. Ordzhonikidze explained exactly how those decisions are made.
– Any expansion of the UN Security Council must be carried out in a special session, by qualified majority of votes. And then this decision must also be ratified by two-thirds of the votes. The United Nations Charter says: “…including ratification by all permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.” And if we do not ratify it, nothing will happen,” said the former UN Undersecretary General.
