German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has spoken out against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposal to reform the United Nations Security Council, including stripping Russia of its veto power.
In an interview with ARD channel on 21 September, Baerbock said Berlin “does not support” removing Russia’s veto in the Security Council, stating, “I have made this very clear repeatedly to my Ukrainian counterparts.”
“This is not a case where we support everything coming from the Ukrainian government. This is also important for discussions in Germany,” Baerbock said. She also expressed reservations about Zelenskyy’s suggestion to grant Germany permanent membership on the Security Council.
“We can’t just say, alright, let’s just change the Security Council. That would be a bit naive,” the German minister said, noting there are several other nations vying for permanent member status.
In his address to the UN Security Council, Zelenskyy proposed reforms to the organization, including expanding the Council’s membership, empowering the General Assembly to override Security Council vetoes, and implementing a mechanism to prevent aggression through sanctions.
Reforming the Security Council has become an urgent issue given Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As a permanent member, Russia can veto any moves to hold it accountable for violations of international law.
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