UNITED NATIONS, October 31. /TASS/. Russia finds utterly unacceptable any infringement of the prerogatives of the UN Security Council’s permanent members, including the power of veto, Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said at a meeting of the UN General Assembly devoted to the Security Council’s reform.

"It is common knowledge that any ideas leading to the infringement on the prerogatives of the current permanent members of the UN Security Council, including the power of veto, are utterly unacceptable to us. It should be remembered that this institution is a major factor encouraging the Security Council members to seek balanced solutions," Churkin said.

In recent years a number of countries have been calling for cancellation or restriction of the power of veto, enjoyed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - Russia, Britain, China, the United States and France. Paris argues that the power of veto should not be applicable to situations where urgent measures are needed to stop mass crimes. As France’s deputy UN envoy Alexis Lamek has said, 85 countries have joined the campaign for this initiative.