Why did Russia not sign the UN reform declaration?
"We need negotiations, not declarations," Russian Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Vassily Nebenzia said after refusing to sign the 10-point statement calling for UN reform drafted by the US.
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| Russian Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Vassily Nebenzia. Photo: Reutes |
On September 18, when US President Donald Trump officially announced a 10-point reform program, Russian officials said they shared the issues raised but disagreed with the way Washington was promoting it.
Moscow showed its disagreement by not signing the statement, along with China and several other countries.
According to the published content, up to 7 out of 10 points in the statement mentioned the UN Secretary General and the role of this position. The current UN Secretary General is Mr. Antonio Guterres, former Prime Minister of Portugal.
The statement calls for more power for Mr. Gutteres in the reform process of the largest organization on the planet; promoting transparency and gender and geographic balance.
"To serve the people we fight for and those who support us, the UN must become an agile, flexible and effective entity," Russia's Russia Today quoted Mr. Gutteres as saying while sitting next to Mr. Trump.
The Russian ambassador to the UN and the non-signatory countries did not have the opportunity to hear this statement because they were not invited by the US.
"There was no consultation before or after the announcement. The US or like-minded countries cannot reform the UN without the consensus of all member states," Russian Ambassador Nebenzia told Tass news agency on September 19.
"All member states want to promote the role of the UN in international affairs as well as its effectiveness. This organization needs reform. But such reform should not be done through empty statements, but through intergovernmental negotiations between member states," Mr. Nebenzia emphasized.
The Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta on the same day quoted the opinions of several other Russian diplomatic officials in the US, criticizing the statement as "not helpful for UN reform".
Some people even said that Washington "set a bad precedent by using a session of the UN General Assembly to promote its foreign policy".
The US or countries that think like the US cannot reform the UN without the consensus of all member countries. Russian Ambassador Nebenzia |
According to Tuoi Tre
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