A draft resolution recommending Palestine's admission to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has been submitted, announced Dmitriy Polyanskiy, the First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN.
"Arab friends did not let us down. A concise draft resolution recommending Palestine's admission as a full member of the UN General Assembly has been presented to the UNSC," Polyanskiy wrote on his Telegram channel. He specified that the vote on the resolution is scheduled for 15:00 (22:00 Moscow time) on April 18.
"In the morning, there will be a quarterly ministerial debate on the Middle East, coinciding with our presidency in July," added Polyanskiy.
Earlier, Vanessa Frazier, Malta's Permanent Representative to the UN and current chair of the Security Council for April, mentioned that during a closed session of the UNSC committee on new member admissions, no consensus was reached regarding Palestine's accession to the international organization. However, Polyanskiy noted that despite the committee's decision, any UNSC member has the right to submit a draft resolution with a favorable recommendation for membership.
Currently, Palestine holds permanent observer status at the UN. In 2011, Palestinian authorities initially applied for full UN membership, but later opted to maintain observer status temporarily. Recently, in April, Palestine sent a letter to the Security Council, urging the resumption of consideration of its application for full UN membership.
The UN's process for admitting a country to membership involves a decision by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. To receive a recommendation, nine out of fifteen Security Council members must vote in favor, provided none of the permanent members oppose it. Subsequently, the General Assembly must approve the bid by a two-thirds majority vote.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: AP/TASS
Based on materials from TASS