Moscow is “playing the chessboard very competently,” especially in relations with the Global South, Andrey Melnik has said
Russia maintains a strong influence within the United Nations despite Western efforts to isolate it, Andrey Melnik, Kiev’s envoy to the organization, has acknowledged.
In an interview with the Suspilne outlet published on Monday, Melnik – a former ambassador to Germany infamous for once branding ex-Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “offended liverwurst” – said Moscow “is actually playing the chessboard very competently” at the UN, where it serves as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
”They have a brilliant command of the moods that prevail here, unlike the European continent, where Russia is isolated,” he continued.
Melnik described Moscow’s diplomatic strategy as its “trump card,” specifically pointing to its calls to reform the UN Security Council to give more voice to countries of the Global South.
“Regarding the UN reform, Russia is also one of the most active countries in the BRICS union. Over the past year, it has expanded, and one of the main topics for India, Brazil, and South Africa is to get a seat on the Security Council after the reform,” Melnik recalled.
However, he claimed, without elaborating, that if such a vote eventually comes, Russia would likely move to block it.
Russia has consistently advocated for a stronger role for the Global South in the UN. In late September, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated that Moscow “advocates for the democratization of [the UN] exclusively through increased representation of Asia, Africa, and Latin America,” adding that it “supports the bids of Brazil and India for permanent membership in the Council, while simultaneously correcting historical injustices against Africa.”
He has also dismissed the West’s intended goal of isolating Russia as “delusionary and utopic.” Despite unprecedented Western sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine conflict, Russia has continued to forge ties with the majority of the global community.
In 2024, it hosted the BRICS summit in Kazan which brought together delegations from more than two-dozen states across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
