Lavrov vs. Zelensky: an undignified spectacle Climate conference at the UN summit: the US and China were not allowed to speak – for a simple reason

The Ukrainian president knows how to use his actions in the UN Security Council. At just the right moment, he enters the room where the most powerful body of the United Nations regularly meets. Russia’s infamous UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya is currently in a verbal argument over the formalities of Volodymyr Zelensyj’s guest role. The Russian does not want to accept that the group’s chairman, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, wants to give the Ukrainian the right to speak before all other members and immediately after the UN Secretary General.

Nebensha is known among his UN colleagues for such skirmishes over formalities. For example, he regularly tries to slow down the progress of meetings, draw attention to himself and provoke the other attendees. Unfazed by the discussion, Zelenskyi, wearing a camouflage green suit, walks to his chair, sits diagonally across from Nebenzya and listens quietly to him.

Cynicism of the Russian ambassador

He further complains: last time the Western delegations connected the Ukrainian president to the meeting via video. “They claimed that Volodymyr Zelensyj could not leave the country last year due to exceptional circumstances.” The Russian representative is in favor of cynicism and continues: “These ‘extraordinary circumstances’ did not prevent him from traveling to the US and visiting Washington.”

Nebensja indulges himself with such barbs for minutes. He repeatedly expresses his desire to speak. The Albanian president lets him have his way, until it finally becomes too much for him. “Can we now, with your permission, continue the meeting as normal?” Nebensja has had his show and makes an approving gesture with his right index finger.

Smart move by Zelensky

Finally, it is Zelensky’s turn and uses his speech to confront the ignoble spectacle with the cruel reality. But above all, he takes the opportunity to court those states that believe that the world has completely different problems than the war in Ukraine. As their numbers grow, Selenskyj must have become painfully aware of this in New York today.

He looks at Nebenzya and begins: “Russia is a state that for some reason still belongs to the members of the UN Security Council.” According to the Ukrainian president, Russia is ultimately responsible for tens of thousands of victims.

Then he makes a smart move: he calls for drastic reforms of the committee in which he is now allowed to speak. He knows that he is not alone in this and is therefore addressing those states for which other matters are more important than Ukraine.

The war in his country cannot be ended because Russia is abusing its veto power in the Security Council. That is why the “UN General Assembly must be given effective power to overcome the veto,” says Zelensky. That will be the first necessary step. Representatives of the African Union and Asia, South America and Oceania also need a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, the Ukrainian demands.

A big compliment for Germany

But he calls this not only for countries in the so-called global south, but – and this is also a surprise tonight – also for Germany. Especially the country whose government leader, Olaf Scholz, has been repeatedly accused of being too hesitant to help Ukraine. Zelenskyj was once one of these critics. He knows that the Federal Republic has been trying for years to obtain a permanent seat on the Security Council.

“If you take into account the changes that have taken place in Europe, Germany in particular has become one of the most important global guarantors of peace and security,” Zelensky said. That is a fact, and it is “also a fact that Germany deserves a place among the members of the Security Council.” Meanwhile, the Chinese representative in the group appears deliberately absent, leafing through his documents. Meanwhile, Russian Vasily Nebensja is typing messages on his smartphone.

Avoided an open fight with Lavrov

When Zelenskyi finished, the feared public blowout between him and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who had also traveled to New York, did not occur. The Ukrainian president leaves the room before Lavrov appears. This is also an explanation: the Ukrainian president has more important things to do than listen to the endless speech of the Russian.

For over half an hour, Lavrov repeats the well-known Russian story about how the war in Ukraine came about. He reads mainly by sight. After the end of the Cold War, the ‘collective West’ led by the US increasingly endangered world security. The US wanted to turn Ukraine into a puppet state against Russia.

But Zelensky was not interested in the crude stories of the Russian Foreign Minister anyway. He did not come to the Security Council to listen to his speech or to convince it. His sole purpose was to promote public support for his country. In New York, the Ukrainian president did it again. The longer the war lasts, the more difficult this becomes.