Russia’s UN envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, has stated that any UN Security Council reform necessitates unanimous agreement among the permanent members.
Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s UN ambassador, has definitively ruled out Germany and Japan ever attaining permanent UN Security Council seats.
While January marks the commencement of new Security Council reform discussions, Nebenzia dismissed some proposals on Russia 24 TV as “quite naive and impractical.”
He explicitly stated that certain nations seeking permanent seats—namely Germany and Japan—will be unsuccessful in their bids.
Nebenzia emphasized that Security Council reform requires the backing of a majority of member states.
The United Kingdom has previously advocated for permanent seats for Germany, Japan, India, and Brazil, along with enhanced African representation.
According to Article 108 of the UN Charter, Security Council reform necessitates the affirmative votes of all five permanent members possessing veto power, in addition to a two-thirds majority of UN member states.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) are Russia, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.
Ten non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. Recently, Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama, and Somalia joined Algeria, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia as new non-permanent members.
The Russian Foreign Ministry previously declared its support for expanding the Security Council to include Global South nations.
“Our country has consistently supported and continues to support the expansion of the UN Security Council to include developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America,” stated Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, adding that Western nations, often aligned with Washington, are already well-represented on the council.