President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, denouncing Russia’s “unprovoked aggression,” told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that if it did not break the grip of Russian veto power, it would be powerless to resolve conflicts around the world, adding his voice to the rising calls to reform how the body works.
“Ukrainian soldiers are doing with their blood what the U.N. Security Council should do by its voting,” Mr. Zelensky said on Wednesday, arguing that “veto power in the hands of the aggressor is what has pushed the U.N. into deadlock.”
Mr. Zelensky’s appearance before the council helped make it the highest-level direct confrontation over the invasion of Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia and his American counterpart, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, taking the seats normally occupied by their ambassadors and stating their countries’ cases.
Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Zelensky did not cross paths — the Russian did not enter the hall until after the Ukrainian had spoken and left — in a bit of choreography that reflected a session in which the two talked past each other.
The Russian foreign minister read a long and detailed speech, citing decades-old events and familiar grievances, speaking so fast that the U.N.’s simultaneous translator stumbled and struggled to keep up — all without engaging with the accusations leveled against his country. “We hear slogans — invasion, annexation, aggression” Mr. Lavrov said, as if those were mere words, not facts.
In relatively brief remarks, Mr. Zelensky did not dwell at length on the bloody realities of the war, knowing that his allies would do so, but instead took aim at the structure of the Security Council, the U.N. arm empowered to take the toughest actions, including imposing sanctions and deploying military personnel.
Five nations — the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain — are permanent members and have veto power, meaning that no action that any of them objects to stands a chance. The other 10 seats rotate among more than 170 other member countries, as chosen by their peers, which do not wield vetoes.
Mr. Zelensky advocated changing U.N. rules to allow the General Assembly, which is made up of all member countries, to override a Security Council veto by a two-thirds vote. But that change would, itself, be subject to a veto, making it a nonstarter for the foreseeable future.
Notably, neither Mr. Blinken nor Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden of Britain, whose countries would be averse to seeing their own powers watered down, addressed Mr. Zelensky’s proposal in their speeches. But many other countries have raised the issue of recasting the Security Council this week, calling for broader and more equitable representation for them, and at least limitations on veto power, if not its abolition.
“I think that Zelensky believes that by talking about U.N. reform, he is turning Ukraine’s battle into a global cause,” Richard Gowan, the…
2023-09-20 16:46:14
Article from www.nytimes.com
rnrn