EU President Michel wants to suspend Russia from UN Security Council | War Ukraine and Russia

A permanent member like Russia should be automatically suspended from the Security Council if it launches a war without cause and justification. This was stated by European Council President Charles Michel on Friday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

“When a permanent member of the Security Council launches an unprovoked and unjust war, a war that is condemned by the General Assembly, that member should be automatically suspended from the Security Council,” Michel said in a reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. .

Like the United States, China, France and the United Kingdom, Russia is one of the permanent members of the Security Council. They also have a veto right. In addition, ten countries sit on the council for a term of two years, which is responsible for maintaining peace and international security.

A thorough reform of the Security Council, which should better reflect the current balance of power in the world, has been discussed for years. “The current system is not sufficiently inclusive and representative. The use of the veto right should be an exception, but it has become the rule. A reform is necessary and urgent,” said Michel.

“Poison of the Lie”

Like other Western leaders, Michel lashed out at Russia, whose “war of colonization” in Ukraine is “trampling” international law and the UN Charter and “combining the violence of arms with the poison of lies”. For example, the former Belgian prime minister emphasized that it is not the European sanctions, but the Russian actions that are responsible for the lack of food and fertilizers.

“The European Union does not ask anyone to choose between East and West, between North and South. But a choice has to be made. And the choice of the European Union is respect for borders, rather than aggression. That is cooperation, rather than threats. That is an order based on rules, rather than the law of the strongest,” concluded Michel.

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