UPDATE - Muslim country with veto power on UN Security Council no longer a need, but an imperative: Turkish president

UPDATES WITH ADDITIONAL REMARKS, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, OTHER EDITS

By Esra Tekin and Efe Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday urged that Muslims be made part of the global decision-making process, a status he said they fully deserve.

"Muslims, who constitute a quarter of the world's population, must be represented in the global decision-making processes, as they deserve," Erdogan said in an address to foreign ambassadors serving in the capital Ankara.

Erdogan also underlined the absolute necessity to have an Islamic country with veto power on the UN Security Council, a point he has stressed over the years as part of his “the world is greater than five” initiative.

"Having an Islamic country with veto power on the UN Security Council is no longer just a need, but an imperative," Erdogan said during an iftar meal, the end of the daytime fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

“However, we see that the 5 permanent members are trying to suppress the problems through concentrating power instead of sharing it based on justice. It should not be forgotten that as long as this wave of change is resisted, both the number and scale of our problems will continue to grow,” he said.

Erdogan said that as confidence in the global security architecture and the rules-based system has fallen, unease grew, the understanding of “every man for himself” has spread, and the “laws of the jungle” became predominant.

Underlining that the domination of the weak by those in power brings serious problems, Erdogan said the avenues through which the weak, victimized, oppressed, and powerless can claim their rights are being closed off one by one.

Saying that a more unjust and ruthless international reality is being built where the underdog gets the short end of the stick, Erdogan stressed that rising xenophobia, terrorism, fascist parties, and the rapid escalation of almost every crisis into conflict cannot be read independently of this new reality.