MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Ukraine may automatically become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, as it has no contenders, Russia's envoy to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said Wednesday.
"Ukraine will take part in an election to the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member. The vote, as I understand it, will most likely take place in October, and Ukraine has no competitors, Ukraine is nominated by the Eastern European group," Churkin said during a Moscow-New York video conference organized by Rossiya Segodnya news agency.
The Eastern European group is currently represented in the UN Security Council by Russia, its permanent member, and Lithuania, which holds the seat until the end of the year.
The election of five non-permanent seats to the UN Security Council for two-year mandates will be held on October 2015 during the 70th session of the UN General Assembly.
Russia Sees Subtext in West's, Ukraine's Calls to Abolish UNSC Veto
"We see, of course, some political subtext here, because a lot is subjective about the French proposal," Churkin argued.
Earlier this year, France renewed its call for a new regulation, which would oblige the permanent members of the UN Security Council to refrain from using a veto in cases where a mass atrocity had been confirmed. The motion was first proposed in 2013.
"We believe that the veto power of the five permanent members is a very important mechanism, that makes delegations work on reaching consensus," he stated.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in August that France was unlikely to be able to push the new regulation through, since the right to veto is unconditional and is enshrined in the UN Charter.
Only five permanent UNSC members have veto power – Russia, the United States, China, the United Kingdom and France.
