Russian delegation will hold the presidency of the UN Security Council in August.
Following the principal of alphabetic rotation, adopted at the UN Security Council, Russia's permanent ambassador at the United Nations Vitaly Churkin will replace Nigerian ambassador to UN Joy Ogwu on Sunday - Russian News Agencies report.
On Monday, August 2, the new president will hold bilateral meetings with his colleagues at the Security Council to agree on a plan of work for the next month.
The UN Security Council member will officially endorse the plan at consultations on Tuesday, August 3. After that, Vitaly Churkin will hold a briefing journalists accredited at the United Nations to tell them what exactly the Council is going to do in August.
The activities of the peacekeeping missions in Iraq and the Lebanon will be on the agenda. The Council will hold an open discussion on the situation in Kosovo. It will listen to a report of Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic. Skender Hiseni, the foreign minister of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, will deliver a speech in a private capacity.
In August, the Council will listen to a traditional briefing of the United Nations Secretariat on the situation in the Middle East. The head of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia is expected to deliver a speech. Besides, the UN Security Council will have to decide on the future of the United Nations missions in eastern Chad and in the Central African Republic. Under the Russian presidency, the UN Security Council may resume debates on the problem of piracy near the coast of Somali.
The United Nations Security Council consists of 15 members, five of which are permanent: Britain, China, Russia, France and the United States. The permanent members have the right of veto. All the other members of the UN Security Council are replaced by half every year.
The Security Council is the United Nations main body responsible for maintaining peace and international security under the UN Charter. UN Security Council resolutions are mandatory for all the UN member states and refusal to implement them may entail enforcement measures, including the use of force.
