By Mohammad Ali
A meeting of the leaders of Russia, China, the United States, France and the United Kingdom, the permanent members of the UN Security Council, which was proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, can be helpful and even necessary in light of the changing international situation, experts told Sputnik.
On Thursday, Speaking at the fifth edition of the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem, Putin proposed to hold a meeting of the heads of state of the UN Security Council’s permanent members this year and said that Moscow intended, without delay, to send the appropriate letters to each country’s leader.
Following the president’s proposal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Friday that Moscow would send messages to the leaders of the Big Five with specific details on the essence of Putin‘s initiative in the first half of next week. He added that the five leaders must rise above disagreements in order to find ways for detente in the world and address the current challenges facing humanity.
REACTION TO PUTIN‘S PROPOSAL TO HOLD P5 SUMMIT
The idea of holding such a meeting to discuss global issues was welcomed by the United Nations that advocates for friendly relations among all member states and hails efforts to encourage discussions among the five permanent members, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told Sputnik on Thursday.
China has also voiced its support for Putin‘s proposal to hold the P5 summit as, according to the leadership, these countries had a special responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. A spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying, pointed out that the meeting was considered to be important amid “rising instability and uncertainty in the international landscape and emerging regional hotspot issues,” which challenged multilateralism and the role of the UN.
“I believe that is necessary – in such a very particular moment like the one we are going through, marked by changing international dynamics – that the permanent members of the Security Council meet each other,” Tiberio Graziani, the chairman of Vision and Global Trends, International Institute for Global Analyses, told Sputnik.
Though the chairman expressed doubts regarding the results of the meeting, he pointed out that there were pressing issues for the permanent members to discuss, including the Libyan crisis and issues related to power shifts between the various nations.
Another expert, Wyn Grant, a professor of international politics at Warwick University, told Sputnik that the meeting could be helpful “if it is approached in a spirit of constructive dialogue without too many preconditions.
“There is clearly a wide range of issues that could be discussed, but creating a focused agenda will be important, in particular, identifying issues where substantive progress can be made,” he added.
According to the professor, summits in a suitable atmosphere can complement rather than disrupt discussions within the UN Security Council, which are featured by “a tendency to adhere to predetermined positions for public consumption.”
SUMMIT OF BIG FIVE IN LIGHT OF 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II
This year, the world marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and the founding of the United Nations as a symbol of multilateralism and preserving post-war order. With this regard, meetings between the five permanent members of the UN Security Council focusing on the international situation and major international issues to strengthen their coordination and cooperation are crucial for protecting the authority of the UN and the Security Council and maintaining global and regional peace and stability.
“As I understand it, the meeting would be held in the context of the 75th anniversary of the Second World War. It is perhaps important to remind the allied powers of their collaboration to defeat fascism, while I understand that Germany has also been invited,” professor Grant told Sputnik.
P5 SUMMIT TO REFORM UN SECURITY COUNCIL
The UN Security Council, which is considered to be the core mechanism of international collective security, has five permanent members � China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States � all of which have veto power, as well as 10 non-permanent members. However, politicians from a number of countries have repeatedly called for the institution to be reformed in order to better reflect the current balance of power in the world. Though the need to reshape the UN Security Council was first voiced in 1993, a consensus on the matter has not been reached so far.
“I hope that during the summit there will be discussions or at least the beginning of discussion devoted to the need of a self-reform by the Council itself,” Graziani told Sputnik.
According to the chairman, the council’s current mechanism is not sufficient to respond quickly to the numerous ongoing conflicts across the world and poses a risk of an intensification of these conflicts on a global scale.
“The Council, however, in its P5 format or enlarged, needs to be reformed, as it has not succeeded so far in limiting the intensity of the conflicts,” he concluded.
Mohammad Ali has a Masters in Mass Communication. He has been working at Urdu Point for three years as News Editor, and this experience has given him a lot of confidence. His aim is to write with complete honesty and integrity.
This article was published on January 25 at UrduPoint.