Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for reforms within the United Nations, arguing that the organisation’s current decision-making structure gives disproportionate influence to a limited group of Western countries.
Putin made the remarks on Thursday while addressing the plenary session of the 23rd annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, held under the theme, “Responsibility for the Future: Limits of the Possible, or Limitless Possibilities?”
The Russian leader said the UN, despite being the world’s most representative international organisation, is not being managed as collectively and democratically as originally intended.
“A narrow grouping of Western countries wields a disproportionately large influence,” Putin said. “It constitutes a global minority by all accounts while seeking to appropriate administrative functions.”
According to Putin, the imbalance has become more evident as countries in the Global South increasingly assert their independence and seek a greater role in international affairs.
He said Russia supports a reform of the UN that would ensure its structure better reflects the diversity of the international community, particularly by increasing the role of countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
Putin, however, stressed that reform should go beyond expanding the UN Security Council or changing geographical representation within the organisation.
“Transformation of the UN is by no means only the expansion of the Security Council and other measures for more balanced geographical representation,” he said, adding that the organisation’s priorities and areas of work also need to reflect emerging global challenges.
He acknowledged that reaching agreement among UN member states on such broad reforms would be difficult under current geopolitical conditions.
“Russia and previously, and now, supports the idea of a fair reform of the United Nations, but it is impossible without internal consensus, which is difficult to achieve now,” Putin said.
He maintained that a reformed UN should better accommodate the changing balance of influence among regions and provide a more representative framework for addressing global issues.
