Gov't confident Turkey will win two-year UN Security Council seat

UNITED NATIONS – Anadolu Agency

A view of the UN Security Council during a summit meeting chaired by US President Barack Obama. AFP Photo

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said Turkey is expecting to win a seat on the U.N. Security Council in the key vote next week.   

The vote, to take place in the U.N. General Assembly on Oct. 16, is for the 10 non-permanent seats on the 15-member council; China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States have permanent seats with the power to veto resolutions.

Turkey needs to obtain two-thirds of the votes, 129 out of 193, to win a non-permanent seat.

Çavuşoğlu said on Oct. 10 that the government is confident it will be elected during the first round of voting.

He is expected to travel to New York for further talks with ambassadors to the U.N. from a number of countries ahead of the vote.

Turkey was elected to the council for the 2009-2010 term with 151 votes. Turkey was a non-permanent member of the council in 1951-1952, 1954-1955 and 2009-2010. In 1961, the country shared a non-permanent seat with Poland.

Under the U.N. Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 members, each of which has one vote. Under the charter, all member states are obligated to comply with council decisions.