Kremlin Supports expanding permanent seats but wants veto power to stay

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia favors changes to the United Nations Security Council that would create additional permanent members, but it opposes any move to eliminate the veto power held by the five permanent states. He described the veto as an essential component of the UN’s overall structure and said Moscow remains committed to preserving it. The comments followed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s renewed demand to scrap both permanent seats and veto authority before the upcoming 81st General Assembly.

The Council has struggled to act on major crises, with Russia’s own veto blocking measures to end the war in Ukraine. A recent French-Mexican proposal to restrict veto use in mass-atrocity situations gained momentum after the United Kingdom’s endorsement, yet it fell one vote shy of the required two-thirds majority. The Security Council is also slated to hold high-level meetings on artificial intelligence and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.