Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia on Monday defended his country's rotating presidency of the Security Council for the month of April.
"Some countries are pretending they can decide, at their own will, who they want or do not want to be in the chair of the presidency of the Security Council," he said, referring to objection to Russia's Security Council presidency.
"As long as the current world order with the UN and the Security Council stands, there will be no change in the rules of procedure. The order of the presidency is well-defined. It's not for them to change it," said the ambassador.
Rule 18 of the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the Security Council states that the council presidency shall be held in turn by the members of the council in the English alphabetical order of their names and that each president shall hold office for one calendar month.
Asked whether Russia would recuse itself as president in council discussions on Ukraine, as his country is directly involved in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine military conflict, Nebenzia said, "No."
"If you put the question this way, then I think other countries on the Security Council should also withdraw from the discussion, and namely, three members of the P5 (the five permanent members) who are directly involved in the situation," Nebenzia said.
The Russian ambassador was referring to France, Britain and the United States, which are providing support for Ukraine against Russia on the battlefield.
Nebenzia also noted that during the 2003 Iraq War, Britain and the United States held the Security Council presidency in September and in October that year respectively, and nobody questioned the two countries' legitimacy back then.
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