Ukraine becomes non-permanent member of UN Security Council
16 October 2015
The United Nations General Assembly voted on Oct. 15 to make Ukraine a non-permanent member of the Security Council in 2016-2017. The decision was approved by 177 out of 193 assembly members. The last time Ukraine was a member was in 2001-2002. Ukraine’s position “will certainly not be conciliatory” towards Russia, a permanent member of the Council, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, as reported by the pravda.com.ua news site.
“I congratulate the Ukrainian people with this international and diplomatic achievement of Ukraine,” said Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. “I don’t have any doubt that it will help us bring the long-awaited peace and support the renewal of Ukrainian sovereignty on all territories occupied by Russia, in Donbas, as well as Crimea.”
Zenon Zawada: Ukraine’s new status on the Security Council is a diplomatic victory for Poroshenko’s foreign policy team, giving it valuable exposure and a key platform from which it can combat Russian information attacks and distortions. Of course, Ukraine had most of the UN’s support ever since the Russian invasion began. Now it can use its new position to further solidify and mobilize this support. At the same time, we should stress that nothing short of the replacement of the Putin regime will return Donbas and Crimea to Ukrainian control.
