Türkiye has a desire to secure a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday.
“Türkiye is striving to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, but so far, we have not achieved any results," he told the press after Friday prayers in Istanbul.
Erdogan said the current permanent members do not intend to support Türkiye's bid.
The Security Council comprises 15 members: Five permanent members, China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S., and 10 non-permanent members who were elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly.
“These 10 non-permanent members have no influence whatsoever,” Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan frequently highlights the need for reform in the world body, saying, “The world is bigger than five.”
In a scathing address to the U.N. General Assembly earlier this week, he similarly put the U.N. on blast for its inefficacy in restraining Israel’s deadly onslaught in the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 41,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7 last year.
He called the U.N. a “dysfunctional, unwieldy and inert structure” and told delegates that “international peace and security are too important to be left to the arbitrariness of the privileged five” permanent members of the Security Council.
He also called for the Security Council to impose sanctions on Israel and said the general assembly should recommend the use of force to achieve an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, the exchange of prisoners and the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid.
