Russia out of the Council? ‘It will not arrive’

Ukraine’s foreign minister wants UN member states to exclude Russia from the UN Security Council. However, Russia is a permanent member of the Council and has a right of veto. It won’t happen, says BNR foreign commentator Bernard Hammelburg.

“Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and the only institution that deals with the Security Council is the Security Council,” Hammelburg said. “Also, if you want to make a proposal, there must always be nine votes in favor, whether or not there are permanent members among them.” According to Hammelburg, these are Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Norway and the Emirates. You need nine of them to support a proposal, I don’t think they even do. There is not even a need for a Russian veto.

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According to Hammelburg, President Zelensky’s visit to the United States was very profitable. In several ways. “America has shown that America is still the first power in the West. Zelensky could also have gone to Brussels, Paris or London, but chose Washington.

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$110 billion

The second gain is of a pragmatic nature. “It’s the old Congress, it’s still here for a few days. The new Congress comes on January 3 and has more qualms about this massive aid package. The 47 billion that still had to pass were expedited by the House of Representatives, in part because of this visit. This means that US aid amounts to more than $110 billion in total. For comparison: the Netherlands has 2 billion in the next budget for Ukraine.

“It wouldn’t have been possible, not even for Biden, if he hadn’t had that little boost from Zelensky’s extraordinary speech to Congress.”

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