The president of Finland called for the abolition of the single-state veto power on the U.N. Security Council on Sept. 17.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb also called for the expansion of the council and the suspension of any member engaging in an “illegal war,” citing the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an example.
Stubb, who leads the Nordic nation’s foreign policy, said he would add his voice to reform calls at next week’s U.N. General Assembly, which is to discuss the composition of the Security Council.
The council consists of five permanent and 10 rotating member states and has a brief to “keep global peace.”
The permanent members, which have the power of veto, are the United States, Russia, China, the UK, and France.
However, geopolitical rivalries and national interests frequently leave the body in a deadlock, particularly over wedge issues such as Ukraine and Gaza.
Stubb said he would propose that the number of permanent members be expanded from five to 10, with one more from Latin America, two from Africa, and two from Asia.
Washington has also backed including two permanent seats for Africa.
“No single state should have veto power in the UN Security Council,” he told Reuters.
Stubb also said any member engaging in an illegal war, “such as Russia is in right now in Ukraine,” should be kicked off the council.
Moscow has justified its invasion of Ukraine by saying it is creating a buffer against Western aggression and taking territory that has historically belonged to Russia.
The Finnish head of state said that he realized his proposals were “beyond what is usually said from small member states” but noted that larger nations would not propose weakening their own positions and influence.
“So they talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk,” he said, noting that he hoped others would help take the plan forward by the U.N.’s 80th anniversary in 2025.
Security Council membership changes need approval by two-thirds of the General Assembly, including the five veto powers.
“My basic message is that if countries from the global South, from Latin America, from Africa, from Asia, do not get agency in the system, they will turn their backs against the United Nations. And that we do not want,” he said.
The former Finnish prime minister and European Parliament member, who took over his current role in March, urged support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is to address the U.N. assembly next week about his “victory plan.”
“He has informed us that 90 percent is already there and the 10 percent that he will present is what will be needed for him to win this war,” he said.
Stubb has called on Western nations to lift restrictions on the use of donated arms, arguing that they leave Kyiv “with one hand tied behind its back.”
“We need to let that hand go and allow Ukraine to do what Russia is doing to it,” he said.
The Finnish head of state also dismissed his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin’s threats of nuclear escalation.
“[The] last time we saw Putin using aggressive language on nuclear weapons, the global South and China basically told Putin to stop,” Stubb said.
Last year, Finland, which shares an 830-mile-long border with Russia, joined NATO, breaking from a decades-long policy of neutrality.
Earlier this week, the Finnish government stated that it was happy for fellow new NATO member Sweden to lead the establishment of alliance land forces in Finland to boost defenses against Moscow.
Both Sweden and Finland have said that they were prompted to join the alliance after Russia’s expansion into Ukraine.
Over the years, NATO has boosted its presence on its eastern flank by building multinational battle groups from the Baltics to the Black Sea, and it has stated that it has plans to develop a presence in Finland, having welcomed Helsinki into the fold.
