Turkish President Erdoğan slams UN Security Council, singling out Russia and China

ANKARA

AA Photo

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeated his call for reform of the United Nations, saying the U.N., which remains deadlocked over how to respond to the crisis in Syria, is no “longer capable of showing global leadership.”

“The world is bigger than five. You cannot reduce 196 states to five countries,” Erdoğan said in a speech at Turkey's Justice Academy on Feb. 2.

Addressing the crisis in Syria, he said the vetoes wielded by Russia and China showed that “we cannot talk about justice in the world.”

“Although we discussed with Russia and China time and again, the problem has not been resolved. Some 350,000 people have died and there is still no intervention [in Syria],” Erdoğan said.

He also noted that only three continents were represented in the U.N. Security Council and there is no voice “representing Islam” within the five permanent members. The temporary members of the Security Council, meanwhile, “do not have much to say as they do not have any authority” and cannot affect outcomes, he suggested.

“There is no Muslim [state] … Only non-Muslims ... Is this justice?” Erdoğan asked, also questioning the absence of any representative from African countries.

“The conditions that appeared after World War I should change,” he added.

Turkey, which has been urging international community for further involvement in Syrian crisis, is frustrated by the stalemate in the 15-nation U.N. Security Council.

Permanent members Russia and China have blocked attempts to pass a resolution criticizing the Syrian regime for bloodshed in the war-torn country.

Russia and China have repeatedly blocked resolutions, fearing that they could lead to a military intervention in Syria similar to the one that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.