Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, said that Moscow sees a political context in the attempts of some Western countries and Ukraine to abolish the veto power in the UN Security Council. “We have a negative attitude towards this initiative. We believe that the veto power of the five permanent members is a very important mechanism that forces delegations to work on developing consensus decisions,” said Mr. Churkin, noting that thanks to the veto power, in most cases the UN manages to achieve consensus.

In turn, Ukraine’s permanent representative to the UN, Yuriy Sergeev, claims that 73 countries already support the initiative to limit the right of veto in the UN Security Council. “At the moment, there are 73 countries on the list,” Mr. Sergeev wrote on his Twitter page.

IMPORTANT! 67 countries have already supported the initiative to reduce the right of #veto in #UNRBD in cases where conflicts become particularly violent
— Yuriy Sergeyev (@Yuriy_Sergeyev) September 16, 2015

Let us recall that on June 30, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Gennady Gatilov warned that Moscow opposes limiting the veto power of permanent members of the UN Security Council, as well as against excessive expansion of the council. Mr. Gatilov presented his vision of the role and prospects of the UN at a meeting of the Russian Public Council for International Cooperation and Public Diplomacy, which was held in the Public Chamber (PP).

Read more about the discussion of the UN in the OP in the Kommersant article “Russia against limiting the right of veto in the UN Security Council.”

Russia sees political subtext in calls to abolish the veto power in the UN Security Council