One world is bound together: the UN has allowed a meeting of the leaders of the permanent members of the Security Council

The summit of the leaders of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, which Vladimir Putin suggested earlier, could be organized in the central institutions of the United Nations, spokesman for the secretary general of the international body Stephane Dujarric told Izvestia. According to him, the unity of the Security Council, especially its permanent members, is vital for maintaining peace and global security. The body that is supposed to guarantee international stability now lacks consensus on most issues. And although such an event could pave the way for de-escalation, due to disagreements, primarily over the Ukrainian crisis, such a meeting is unlikely to be expected in the near future. On the other hand, Donald Trump's return to power in the United States next year could change the trajectory of relations between Russia and the West.

UN Security Council Leaders' Summit

In the context of international instability, the idea of organizing a summit of the leaders of the UN Security Council states with veto power seems highly relevant. The UN generally looks favorably on the initiative that the Russian president proposed earlier.

- Member states are free to organize any meetings they wish at the United Nations headquarters. This is not within the competence of the secretary-general," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, told Izvestia. - As has been said many times, the unity of the Security Council, especially its permanent members, is vital for maintaining peace and security around the world.

In early 2020, Vladimir Putin, at the Holocaust Remembrance Forum in Jerusalem, took the initiative to convene a summit of Russia, China, the United States, the United Kingdom and France. The goal was to jointly discuss current world problems. Then the Russian leader said that it was the founding countries of the United Nations and permanent members of the Security Council that had a "special responsibility to preserve civilization." Negotiations on this issue began immediately, and Putin even talked about the possibility of holding such an event anywhere on the planet.

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At that time, the Russian president's proposal was positively received, in particular, by the leadership of France and China. But already in 2021, relations between Russia and the West began to deteriorate, and after 2022, Moscow's dialog with representatives of Western countries stopped in most areas. As a result, the UN Security Council found itself in a "blocked" situation: countries veto each other's resolutions.

Earlier, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Izvestia that even in the current realities, Vladimir Putin is ready for a dialog with the heads of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. However, the Russian side realizes that the prospect of such a meeting is unrealistic now.

Prerequisites for a meeting of UNSC leaders

One way or another, such a meeting is possible only if the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis decreases. And it has only been gaining momentum lately. The UK, the US and France have authorized the AFU to strike deep into Russian territory with their long-range missiles. At that, British Storm Shadow and American ATACMS have already been used for attacks.

At the same time, Russia is still open for negotiations, but Moscow cannot respond to the actions of the opposite side either.

- We do not want to aggravate the situation. But since ATACMS and other long-range weapons are being used on Russian territory, we are sending signals. We hope that the latest one (a couple weeks ago) from the new Oreshnik system was taken seriously," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reminded on December 8 that Moscow's position on the settlement is well known - it was outlined by the president on June 14 at a meeting with the Russian Foreign Ministry leadership. Among the main conditions are the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donbas and Novorossiya and Kiev's refusal to join NATO. According to the Russian leader's press secretary, in order to get on a peaceful trajectory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "need only cancel his decree and give instructions to resume dialog on the basis of the Istanbul agreements and taking into account the realities on the ground". Recall, Zelensky back in 2022 introduced the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSBO) on the impossibility of negotiations with Vladimir Putin. As for the agreement mediated by Turkey, it was almost reached in 2022, but Kiev eventually refused to continue dialog with Moscow, as it turned out later, including under pressure from Boris Johnson, who at that time served as prime minister of Great Britain. The West instead continued to supply Kiev with weapons.

However, US leader Joe Biden will leave the White House next January and will be replaced by Donald Trump. During his election campaign, the newly elected president repeatedly spoke about the intention to quickly resolve the crisis in Eastern Europe. At the same time, Trump said that he is now developing a concept of how to "put an end to this ridiculous conflict". Vladimir Zelensky, according to the Republican, wants to end the conflict with Russia. "He wants to make peace. That's something new," Trump said in an interview with the New York Post. - He wants a ceasefire. We haven't discussed the details. He thinks it's time." Trump met with the Ukrainian president in Paris on Dec. 7, which was the day of the inauguration of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris after its renovation.

- "It all depends on how deeply Trump sees the problems," Vladimir Brovkin, an American historian and former Harvard University professor, told Izvestia. - What he wants to do inside America will fail if the settlement of the Ukrainian issue with Putin fails. Then there will be escalation again, and that means more money, more weapons and other spending. The whole domestic agenda will be shut down. If he wants to restart American industry, fight the bureaucracy, reform the government, and there will be a lot of resistance to that, he needs to solve international crises. If he wants to keep a legacy after him or have J.D. Vance carry on his legacy, he needs to focus on that first and foremost.

Restoring communication with Russia as well as reducing the Western bloc's friction with the Global South could be one of the prerequisites for the UNSC leaders meeting at the highest level. Trump, by the way, is quite capable of pressuring or persuading his European allies, particularly the UK and France, to lower their consistent Russophobic rhetoric and come to the negotiating table, the expert believes. Given that the UN is open to providing a platform, such a meeting could theoretically be organized within the High-Level Week of the General Assembly in 2025. Trump and Putin are capable of agreeing on such an event.

- I think Putin now wants something to work out with Trump. What's the interest in a settlement for Trump? He could emerge as a global leader. Together they could create some kind of model of great power interaction to solve global problems. In this respect, it does not oblige anyone to anything, but it creates prospects for normalization. Moreover, the UN Security Council is indeed of great international importance," says Vladimir Brovkin.

On the other hand, one should not forget about Trump's uneasy relationship with the UN. During his first term, he regularly criticized the organization because, according to him, it was not capable of solving problems. The UN became "just a club for people to get together, socialize and have a good time," the politician said. But in this case, the UN can rather act as a platform for negotiations.