Ukraine has called on United Nations member states to deprive Russia of its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to expel it from the UN, according to a statement published by Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on Dec. 26.
The ministry argued that Russia had illegally become a member of the UN and the Security Council after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which was a permanent member of the council.
“Russia has never gone through the legal procedure to be admitted to membership and therefore illegally occupies the seat of the USSR in the UN Security Council…Russia is an usurper of the Soviet Union’s seat in the UN Security Council,” reads the statement.
The Foreign Ministry wrote that Russia’s actions are contrary to the concept of a “peace-loving” state, defined in the UN Charter as one of the main criteria for membership.
The statement cited Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and Chechnya; interference in the internal affairs of the countries of the Baltic and Black Sea regions, and abuse of its veto power at the Security Council.
“Three decades of its (Russia’s) illegal presence in the UN have been marked by wars and seizure of other countries’ territories, forceful change of internationally recognized borders, and attempts to satisfy its invasive and neo-imperial ambitions,” the ministry explained.
Russia's expulsion from the UN and the UN Security Council should be decided by all UN members and should not lead to the annulment of decisions made during Russia’s membership, the Foreign Ministry added.
“Ukraine initiates a complex process aimed at achieving the goals of this statement, and in this context is ready to cooperate with other countries to jointly protect the UN Charter and international law from the destructive influence of the Russian Federation,” the statement concludes.
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