3 QUESTIONS - Russia assuming of UN Security Council helm

By Umit Nazmi Hazir

- The author is a political scientist and expert on Russia.

ISTANBUL (AA) - In three questions, Umit Nazmi Hazir, an analyst on Russia, discusses what Russia's UN Security Council presidency means for global politics with its potential impacts.

- What does Russia's UN Security Council presidency mean?

The Security Council is the most important part of the UN, consisting of five permanent and 10 non-permanent member countries.

The permanent members are the US, UK, China, Russia, and France, and the rotating presidency of the Security Council is assumed by 15 member countries each for one month.

The Security Council has been given significant responsibilities for the effective functioning of the UN, and five permanent members have veto power.

Its resolutions are binding for all UN members, which is an important privilege for Russia to be one of the key countries in global politics.

Russia has used its veto power more than any other country since the UN's establishment, which is why Moscow places great importance on the UN.

Russia once held the presidency of the Security Council in the early days of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022.

In the past few years, there has been a growing polarization among the five permanent member countries on various issues, and this has resulted in a decline in the UN's effectiveness.

Russia and China generally share similar views on various issues, such as the Syrian war, whereas the US, UK, and France tend to take different positions.

As the Ukraine-Russia war has continued, with accusations of war crimes being leveled against Russia by the Western countries, Russia's Security Council presidency became a global hot topic.

Ukraine expressed the strongest opposition to this move. They requested Russia's expulsion from the Security Council, even though this is not possible.

Russia's Security Council presidency was considered by some Western countries, particularly Ukraine, as a symbolic blow to the UN.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy even suggested that some international organizations, including the UN, had failed and needed to be reformed.

- What privileges will the Security Council presidency bring to Russia?

Although Russia stated that it will adhere to the regulations and refrain from exploiting the advantages of holding the presidency during its term, Moscow will want to take advantage of its turn at the helm.

There are two ways Russia may potentially benefit:

Firstly, the Security Council presidency will allow Russia to try to reduce its isolation and protect its legitimacy in the global community.

Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, Western countries have isolated Moscow from the rest of the world and painted it as an illegitimate actor.

Secondly, Russia will have a chance to bring its own arguments and agenda to the UN.

For example, while Russia calls for a UN investigation of the Nord Stream gas pipeline sabotage, Western countries are not interested in an investigation.

But, Russia's presidency can lead to further investigation into the matter.

The Security Council will hold sessions on the Syrian war and the situation in the Middle East during this period, which will allow Russia to bring its own arguments and those of Assad to the forefront regarding the situation in Syria and to create public opinion from its perspective.

On the other hand, it should be added that the Security Council presidency will bring limited privileges to Russia.

This is because each of the council's 15 members takes up the presidency for a month.

Furthermore, running the Security Council does not have a strong influence over the decisions but rather mainly has an impact on determining the agenda of the UN.

- What will be the impact of Russia's presidency on international politics?

At the 2007 Munich Security Conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin implied a paradigm shift in Moscow's foreign policy, indicating that Russia would implement policies to push for a multipolar world order.

Since the start of Putin's third term as Russia's president in 2012, Russia has started to implement neo-revisionism.

So Russia aims to revise the Western-centric world system and reduce US hegemony instead of overthrowing the whole international order and eliminating international organizations, including the UN.

Russia attaches great importance to the UN in terms of reducing and balancing the influence of the US and the West in international politics and seeks to put the UN's role forward.

On April 24, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will chair an open debate "on effective multilateralism through the defense of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations."

China is increasingly in agreement with Russia's policy of creating a multipolar world order and also advocates multilateralism.

Russia has called on other UN members to present new visions for the creation of a multipolar world order at this debate to replace the unipolar world order.

With Russia demanding reforms to the Security Council, Türkiye, Brazil, and India may respond to this call, which will further highlight the vision of multilateralism in the UN.

Another reason behind Russia's promotion of multilateralism is its attempt to bring non-Western countries together and escape diplomatic isolation.

It should be noted that although both Türkiye and Russia attach importance to the UN and believe that it is necessary to restructure the UN, there are some differences in the two countries' understanding of a multipolar world.

Thus, Russia has a different interpretation of Türkiye's motto for the Security Council, "The world is bigger than five," as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says.

*Opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Anadolu.