DID Press: Russia will never agree to proposals aimed at restricting the use of veto power by members of the United Nations Security Council, Kirill Logvinov, head of the International Organisations Department at Russia’s Foreign Ministry, has said.
Logvinov said the veto was not a privilege but a special responsibility and a tool for encouraging parties to seek lasting solutions and fair compromises.
He rejected the idea that the Security Council’s declining effectiveness was caused by the use of the veto, arguing instead that Western countries’ policies and their efforts to use the body to advance their own agendas were the main reasons behind the situation.
Logvinov also commented on the possible role of the next UN secretary-general in reforming the organisation, saying the matter did not fall within the secretary-general’s authority. Decisions on such reforms, he said, rest with UN member states.