Czech Republic to Apply for UN Security Council Membership
The Czech Republic plans to apply for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council, as announced by the country's Foreign Minister, Jan Lipavský, according to Czech Radio.
Mr. Lipavský stated that the nation will vigorously contend for the prestigious council seat during the 2032-2033 term. The voting will take place in 2031.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that he consulted with the country's Prime Minister and President regarding the Czech Republic's candidacy, both of whom supported this idea.
Jan Lipavský added that the Czech Republic feels a responsibility to defend the UN Charter and desires to contribute to the support of international security and the advancement of human rights.
Furthermore, the Senate of the Czech Republic backed the acceleration of Ukraine's admission to NATO. On Wednesday, the Czech Senate approved a resolution preparing for the NATO summit in Vilnius in July. Among other things, the deputies highlighted the deterioration of the security situation in Europe and supported Ukraine's admission to NATO at the earliest opportunity.
According to the text of the resolution, the Senate of the Czech Republic "advocates for Ukraine to acquire NATO membership as soon as possible," supports the training and supply of weapons and other military equipment to Ukraine in coordination with allies.
"We support enhancing Ukraine's interoperability with NATO in the interests of Euro-Atlantic integration, as well as deepening NATO's relations with non-member states, such as Moldova," the resolution states.
Czech senators also urge their government to initiate a discussion about a clear path for Ukraine's entry into NATO and the prospects for its security guarantees at the Vilnius summit.
"We call on the government of the Czech Republic to deepen Ukraine's integration into NATO structures and processes prior to the formal commencement of its accession process to the North Atlantic Alliance, and we urge the government to seek more intensive support for Ukraine from NATO countries," the document specifies.
In turn, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba thanked the Czech Senate for passing this resolution.
"The momentum for taking a step towards Ukraine's membership at the Vilnius summit continues to build, and we thank Miloš Vystrčil and the Czech senators for their step," he wrote on Twitter.
As a reminder, Ukraine expects specific steps towards its membership in the Alliance from the NATO summit in Vilnius in July. Kyiv is preparing political and practical packages for discussion at the summit.
According to the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine will not be satisfied with any other decision of the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, except for real steps towards its membership in the Alliance.
On April 1, Russia assumed the presidency of the UN Security Council. Along with China, Russia is blocking all important decisions regarding Ukraine. Previously, Russia presided over the Security Council in February 2022, when it commenced full-scale military aggression against Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that, from the perspective of international law, Russia's presence not only in the UN Security Council, but also within the organization as a whole, is illegitimate and dangerous. Therefore, last year Ukraine officially demanded Russia's expulsion from the UN Security Council.
At the same time, both the EU and the US have begun to contemplate the exclusion of Russia from the UN. Some American congressmen have urged Biden to remove the terrorist nation from the UN Security Council.