UN, March 10. /TASS/. The best possible number of member states of the UN Security Council after its reform should not exceed 20 countries, Adviser to Russia’s Permanent Delegation to the organization Dina Gilmutdinova said at the informal meeting of the UN General Assembly, adding that an extension to 25-26 members is excessive. The Security Council consists of 15 countries, of which five (Russia, the UK, China, the US and France) are permanent members, while another ten are non-permanent members that are elected for two years.

"The issue of the UN Security Council’s reform is not only one of the most important, but also most complicated on the agenda of the global organization. This is due to the fact that the issue is about a body, which pursuant to the Charter of the United Nations is ultimately responsible for maintenance of international peace and security," she said. "We consistently presume that the main guideline for the Council’s reform is making it more representative. The efforts on extending the Council should not affect its ability to efficiently and quickly respond to emerging challenges," the diplomat added.

"We advocate keeping the Security Council compact. Its best possible number should not exceed 20 member states. We consider the proposal to increase the number to 25-26 members and even higher made by some delegations, excessive," she noted.

Russia seeks to make the Security Council more balanced, reflecting the modern vision, which "requires African, Asian and Latin American developing countries being more involved in its work," Gilmutdinova stressed. "We see no added value for increasing in the Security Council the number of the most developed states, mainly from Western Europe, which from the viewpoint of fair representativeness in the body of all regions of the world already have an unfounded majority in it," she concluded.