Russia may consider candidates from outside Latin America and the Caribbean if none of the region’s nominees passes ongoing Security Council indicative ballots for the next U.N. chief, diplomat Kirill Logvinov told TASS.
Logvinov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of International Organizations, made the comments in an interview published Nov. 5. He said Moscow supports an unwritten regional rotation that puts Latin America and the Caribbean in consideration during this cycle.
If no nominee from Latin America and the Caribbean passes the ongoing indicative ballots, Russia could weigh candidates from other regional groups, Logvinov said. Those candidates would need to meet Moscow’s criteria and attract broad backing among Security Council members.
Logvinov said Russia wants the other permanent members to settle on a successor before Guterres’ term ends. He described discussions among the five permanent members as taking place more frequently and through different diplomatic channels.
The Security Council recommends a candidate to the General Assembly, which makes the appointment. The regional rotation is a custom, not a formal requirement. The Council’s indicative ballots gauge support but do not decide the appointment; a formal recommendation requires at least nine affirmative votes and can be blocked by any permanent member, as EconoTimes explained in its earlier coverage of the selection process.
