Russia supports the option to expand the UN Security Council by virtue of including representatives from the developing countries. At the same time, the Russian delegation decisively objects to any attempts to limit the use of the veto right, which lets the Council’s permanent members block resolutions. Oleg Filimonov, the Russian representative said that at the UN General Assembly session, which was dedicated to reforming the Council.

‘As the permanent member of the Security Council, Russia marks the necessity of making this authority more meaningful – first of all, by virtue of including representatives from the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. However, the efforts in this direction should not affect the Council’s ability to timely and effectively respond to the emerging challenges. In this regard, we support the compact size of the Security Council. Its optimal line-up should be maximum twenty-something countries,’ the diplomat said.

He also stressed that Russia rejects any ideas leading to limitation of the incumbent Council members, including the veto institute.