MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. Moscow will persevere in its efforts to enhance the effective role of the United Nations in close contact with its allies, including at the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"As a UN co-founding state and as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia comprehends its special responsibility for the future destiny of this highly important international body," Russia’s top diplomat said in a message of greetings to the organizers and guests of an unofficial United Nations Day reception. "We will closely coordinate our actions with our supporters, and we will continue to enhance the effectiveness of the UN, including within the framework of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations. We are certainly ready to continue constructive dialogue with UN representatives in Russia," he added.
Lavrov said it was hard to overestimate the significance of the global body in promoting equitable interstate cooperation and finding concerted answers to numerous challenges and threats amid what he said were tectonic shifts globally.
"Owing to its universal legitimacy, the UN boasts unique capabilities for facilitating multilateral interaction in multiple spheres, including efforts to maintain international peace and security, protecting human rights and ensuring sustainable socio-economic development," Lavrov emphasized.
According to Lavrov, it is the United Nations and the principles of its charter that genuine multilateralism is linked with. "No organizations established on a limited scale outside the UN framework can claim the right to express the opinion of the entire international community," the Russian foreign minister concluded.