Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly (Photo: Reuters).
During his speech at the General Assembly, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said no additional seats at the UNSC should be given to Western countries, especially to Germany and the US ally, Japan. Russia on Saturday backed a permanent seat for India and Brazil on the United Nations Security Council, while strongly opposing the same for Western countries.
This support was reiterated in the 2026 BRICS New Delhi Declaration, with China and Russia backing India and Brazil for a greater role in the UN, including the Security Council.
“To pursue a utopian goal of containing Russia, the West dismantled the European security system and cultivated a Russophobic regime in Kyiv,” he said, while warning the Western nations of “consequences”. The Russian foreign minister said the UN’s core principles were being put at risk, with the West overlooking the spread of Nazism in Ukraine. Russia has been one of the most consistent supporters of India’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council . Moscow has repeatedly backed India’s candidature as part of a broader push to make the Council more representative of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Lavrov accused the West of continuously pumping weapons into Ukraine while helping target drones and missiles at Russia’s civilians and civilian infrastructure. He also mentioned that Europe raised an anti-Moscow regime in Kyivv, in order to control the Russian influence. He further accused Europe of doing everything to block a peaceful settlement with Ukraine and disrupt negotiation prospects favoured by many, including the Trump administration. Lavrov claimed several EU leaders of being infected with racial superiority, encouraging the rise of what he called Ukrainian Nazism. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
Lavrov has previously argued that the current composition no longer reflects today’s global balance and explicitly endorsed India, alongside Brazil, for permanent membership.