Vucic warned that the expulsion of Russia from the Security Council is being prepared – Ylber Hysa and Sonja Biserko say that it is unlikely

Since the start of the large scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the mobilization of the Western world in condemning it, the President of Serbia, Alexandar Vucic, held an extraordinary press conference warning of difficult times awaiting Serbia.

One of his previously unheard of arguments was that “Russia’s exclusion from the Security Council is being prepared.” Such a thing, he argued, would practically mean goodbye to the Russian veto.

Kosovo’s door to the UN will be wide open, he said.

Among other things, he said that the Western world was trying to soften the Chinese stance towards Kosovo in the UN Security Council.

Such a thing, according to experts in regional politics, is part of the political and propaganda battle of Belgrade, but not quite realistic.

Former Kosovo Ambassador to Montenegro, Ylber Hysa, sees this as a common maneuver that Serbian politics performs for internal and external audiences.

“Vuçiç [makes] such statements as part of his internal and external political balance, at a time when he has to play his traditional game of being a little bit with the West and a little bit with the East; and especially under pressure to show solidarity with sanctions against Russia. Many of the measures he takes, in a way, he presents to the domestic public as part of this pressure, to which he must make concessions to maintain this-or-that interest”, says Hysa for Albanian Post.

“It seems more like a piece of domestic policy consumption than a serious reflection on a stable foreign policy that has to do with the Security Council”.

The chairwoman of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Belgrade, Sonja Biserko, does not see such a prospect – Russia’s exclusion from the Security Council.

“The Russian occupation of Ukraine has put an end to the existing world order as we know it. Many analysts and studies are saying so far it is necessary to change the structure of the Security Council in order to make it more relevant to important decision-making for the world. Of course at the moment it is impossible to see how they will deal with this, but Russia is already quite isolated”, she told Albanian Post.

“Her membership in the Human Rights Council has already been removed. In many other situations, too, Russia is increasingly isolated. But Russia still has the support of authoritarian leaders around the world, which justifies this order that generally aims to destroy the Western values we know and appreciate – the liberal order”.

Biserko considers that there is a need to restructure the international order, especially of the United Nations.

Russia is a Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council, and with its veto excercises a strong lever over Belgrade.

“As far as Russia can suffer consequences in the UN Security Council, this is part of a serious clash taking place at the United Nations, where Russia has traditionally had a veto power, and it is the one who has made many accusations saying that previous interventions by the West and America have been made without the permission of the Security Council. In this respect, the United Nations is turning into a theater where such an inconsistency of Moscow’s policsy is being shown”, explains Ylber Hysa.

“And finally, it is the Ukrainian ambassador who has brought an important issue to the UN by saying that Russia has never been a member of the Security Council; saying that it automatically misused the legacy of the Soviet Union, and that it never practically applied to be a member of the Security Council. He demonstrated this by telling the audience where the representatives of different states were if they have ever voted for this or if they have ever been asked to do so. Thus, it is part of a diplomatic war, and a war that is taking place after February 24, where the United Nations is becoming a kind of epicenter of this global clash “, said the former Kosovar diplomat.

For Sonja Biserko, important as this would be, however in the current context she does not see it as feasible.

“I do not see how the Security Council could change, how it could put Russia aside, and who would be in its favor. Because we have to remember that China is a very important member of the Security Council, even though in my view there are many countries that should be in the Security Council like India, Brazil, Germany. It is a structure based on the victors of World War II, and the powers that were relevant to the world order at the time.”

Ambassador Hysa sees these warnings of the President of Serbia within a balancing act of Serbian policies, which are not always in line with Russia.

“One day Mr. Vucic talks to Mr. Putin, the next day they vote in the UN to exclude Russia from the Human Rights Commission, while on the third day Vucic says he will never agree to call Putin Hitler. There will constantly be such maneuvers to prove this or that decision which is not always consistent with the proclaimed traditional friendship”.

The Charter of the United Nations does not in any way specify how a permanent member of the Security Council may be removed.

A seat may be removed from the United Nations General Assembly by a vote based on the recommendation of the Security Council.

“A member of the United Nations who has consistently violated the Principles contained in this Charter may be expelled from the Organization by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council,” Article 6 of the Charter states.

Given that Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council and has the right of veto, the Council can not recommend the departure of Russia without its agreement.

Russia would have to approve its own dismissal.