UNITED NATIONS, April 8. /TASS/. Moscow calls on all countries around the world to support Palestine's application for the status of a permanent UN member, said Russia’s first deputy envoy to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky.
"Russia fully supports the initiative of the Palestinian side to renew its application for Palestine’s full membership in the UN. The fate of this application will become a measure of humanity and civilization of the modern-day world," he said at a UN General Assembly meeting. "We urge all members of the international community to support Palestine's application for UN membership."
Palestine now is a permanent observer to the UN. In 2011, Palestine already applied for permanent UN membership, but it later decided to remain a permanent observer for some time. In April, Palestine sent a letter to the UN Security Council with a request to resume consideration of its bid to join the UN as a permanent member. Countries with this status can attend most meetings and have access to almost all relevant documentation, but have no voting rights. Apart from Palestine, only the Holy See, or the Vatican, has permanent observer status at the UN.
Countries are admitted to the UN by a decision of the organization’s General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. The Security Council grants a recommendation if nine out of its 15 members vote in favor of the country’s application, provided that none of the council’s permanent members -the UK, China, Russia, US and France - vote against it. The application then must collect two-thirds of the vote at the UN General Assembly.