Is it possible to exclude Russia from the UN Security Council: political scientist assesses the position of other countries

Is it possible to exclude Russia from the UN Security Council: a political scientist assessed the position of other countries Angela Figin

Russia is still a member of the United Nations Security Council. Despite the fact that the question of excluding the aggressor country has been raised since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

However, recently Finnish President Alexander Stubb stated that reform of the UN Security Council should include the exclusion of any member that participates in the “illegal war,” that is, Russia. The president of the analytical center “Politics” Oleg Lesnoy told 24 Channel whether such an option is possible.

Why Russia can't be excluded from the Security Council

The Security Council must immediately suspend the membership of the aggressor country until a just peace is established. Currently, the UN categorically rejects the proposal to exclude Russia. However, statements about this still appear periodically.

Important! The United States proposes a reform of the UN Security Council to effectively respond to modern challenges. So far, there is no talk of changing the number of countries with veto power. Russia will retain it.

The Ukrainian side rightly said that Russia should be kicked out of the UN altogether, because it came there illegally. The UN explains that from a legal point of view they cannot exclude Moscow, because then all the decisions made by the aggressor country will be illegitimate.

The Russians simply entered the Security Council instead of the Soviet Union, sat down at the table and said, well, we will sit here. Then everyone understood that it was illegal. This stupidity is in the heads of many politicians of large countries, that in a situation when something is being destroyed, someone should be senior and take responsibility, – said Lesnoy.

So, when the Soviet Union was falling apart, they decided that Russia should be senior. In fact, this is a fatal mistake that has not yet reached its logical conclusion. The world has not yet seen the danger of its actions.

If we take as a basis that the United Nations must maintain peace, or when the situation has gone beyond peace and it must be returned, then it does not fulfill its functions, – the political scientist noted.

This is a very bad trend, because playing games of give-and-take will lead to the UN ceasing to exist after the end of this war. After all, it has now shown its ineffectiveness.

Pay attention! The UN General Assembly with 193 members has strongly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The world community demanded that the Kremlin withdraw its troops from our country, but the Security Council, where Moscow has veto power, is holding back any peace efforts.

What consequences will Russia's potential exclusion from the Security Council have?

It is hard to believe that Russia could still be excluded from the Security Council, since China is there. But if we imagine that this eventually happened, then there is nothing negative about it for Ukraine.

“I do not see a tragedy for either Ukraine or the world from this step. But, unfortunately, I do not see a real desire on the part of the UN as a structure to get rid of, or at least suspend the activities of Russia during the war,” Lesnoy added.