Sept. 20 (UPI) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the United Nations to overhaul the Security Council and take away Russia’s veto vote, charging that the Kremlin has abused power to prevent the organization from taking action in its invasion of his country.
Zelensky, who addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, left the chamber Wednesday before the Russian delegation could address the council, preventing what could have been an intense standoff between the two.
“Most of the world recognizes the truth about this war,” Zelensky told the Security Council. “We should recognize that the U.N. finds itself in a deadlock on the matters of aggression.
“World leaders are seeking new platforms and alliances that could reduce the disastrous scope of problems, the problems that are met here within these walls with rhetoric rather than real solutions, with aspirations to compromise with killers rather than to protect lives.”
He said Russia and its allies have ignored the United Nations and continue to invade his country without paying a price.
“These are the situations that have changed everything for the U.N.,” Zelensky said. “Humankind no longer pins its hopes on the U.N. when it comes to the defense of the sovereign border of nations.”
While the General Assembly has voted on resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion and calling for its withdrawal, the votes are non-binding and serve as records of statements.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in clear violation of the United Nations charter and international law, is aggravating geopolitical tensions and divisions, threatening regional stability, increasing the nuclear threat and creating deep fissures in our increasingly multipolar world,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said at the Security Council.
“The war has killed or injured tens of thousands of civilians, destroyed lives and livelihoods, traumatized a generation of children.”
