Thu Mar 24, 2016 13:09:39
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that the UN Security Council must be reformed and expanded, and permanent seats in the body abolished altogether. For their part, Russian analysts suggest that such a proposal, if implemented, would undermine a key pillar of international security dating back to the post-WWII period.
Speaking to youth activists in Istanbul earlier this week, Erdogan suggested that the Security Council system must be reformed, expanded to twenty members from its present fifteen, and permanent seats eliminated, Russia's RIA Novosti reports, citing Turkey's Anadolu news agency.
"This system must be reformed," Erdogan noted. "Just think: five permanent and ten non-permanent Security Council members. They will perform their duties for another two years. The Security Council includes Russia, Britain, France, the USA, and China. There are no representatives of Africa. They too should be represented in this structure. Nor are there any representatives of South America."
"From the religious point of view, in the top five there are is no Muslim country, there are no representatives of the Buddhists. The Security Council must be representative of all 196 [sic] countries," the president added.
Moreover, he suggested, "there should not be permanent and non-permanent members…The Security Council should be comprised of 20 countries which should constantly be rotated."
Offering an example of his discontent with the current system, Erdogan criticized the Security Council's 'indecisiveness' on Syria. "We are talking about Syria, where 500,000 people have been killed. "How is this possible? What kind of world is this? What kind of Security Council is this?" Erdogan asked.
Analyzing Erdogan's remarks, independent online Russian newspaper Svobodnaya Pressa suggested that what the president is effectively calling for is "the dismantling of the key institute in charge of security in the world", Sputnik reported.
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