Will Russia Leave the Council? ‘won’t happen’
Ukraine’s foreign minister wants UN member states to expel Russia from the UN Security Council. However, Russia is a permanent member of the Council and has veto power. That’s not going to happen, says BNR’s foreign commentator Bernard Hummelberg.
“Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and the only body that interacts with the Security Council,” Hummelburg says. ‘Also, if you want to make a proposal, there must always be nine votes in favour, regardless of whether there are permanent members among them.’ According to Hummelberg, these are Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Norway and the Emirates. You need nine people to support a project, and I don’t think they even do that. A Russian veto is not even necessary.’
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According to Hummelberg, President Zelensky’s visit to the US has been very fruitful. In many ways. “America has proven that it is still the leading power in the West. Zelensky could have gone to Brussels, Paris or London, but chose Washington.
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110 billion dollars
The second gain is of a practical nature. “This is the old Congress, and it has been around for a while. The new Congress comes in on January 3rd, and there is a lot of concern about that big aid package. The 47 billion still to go was accelerated through the House of Representatives, partly because of that visit. That means U.S. aid has risen to more than $110 billion in total. In comparison: the Netherlands has 2 billion in the budget for Ukraine.
“It wouldn’t have been possible even for Biden if he hadn’t gotten that little boost from Zelensky’s extraordinary speech to Congress.”
“Coffee fanatic. Friendly zombie aficionado. Devoted pop culture practitioner. Evil travel advocate. Typical organizer.”