Jovanovic: A battle for the Security Council will be fought; Serbia should be patient

Former head of diplomacy Vladislav Jovanovic assessed for Kosovo Online that if there was an expansion of the permanent composition of the Security Council with new members, it would be a long and uncertain process, and in such a situation, Serbia needed patience.

During the United Nations General Assembly session in New York, calls for UN reform and expansion of the permanent Security Council composition were heard. Currently, the members are the USA, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom. Possible new members of this body mentioned include India, Brazil, Japan, and Germany.

"Serbia needs to endure until then because it is not a near-term date; it is an idea that has been set forth and will require extensive processing, development, and negotiation. This idea is decades old and nothing happened. Now, it is taking a step further, aiming to weaken Russia's position as a permanent member of the Security Council if possible. This idea should first stir things up, then clarify them and extract something that would suit someone. All major powers will strive to preserve their interests," Jovanovic says.

He adds that, above all, the victors of World War II will not want to lose their privileged positions, as they have a greater voting right than others - the right of veto.

"The fact is that in the meantime, the power of other states has grown, which dictates changes within the UN. The question is whether these changes should render the UN meaningless or make it healthier by making it more equitable for the new balance of power. In that sense, there will be a great scramble to expand the Security Council when it comes to old members. The question is whether Berlin and Tokyo will smoothly pass through not only because of China but also because of the US, which wants to retain its protectorate over Japan and Germany. If they were to enter the expanded permanent membership of the Security Council, that protectorate would disappear. I'm not sure the USA wants that, but we'll see," he says.

Regarding India, Brazil, and African countries, which are all becoming more significant, Jovanovic notes that many of them will knock on those doors.

"For example, Nigeria, the largest country, Ethiopia, and Egypt will have to be represented. On the other hand, Brazil, as by far the most potent country in Latin America, must certainly not be bypassed, and Indonesia, which is important demographically and economically, may also enter. There will be other countries like Turkey and Iran, knocking on those doors. It will be a big struggle that can slow down or perhaps even halt all of this,“ Jovanovic believes.

He states that it is still better to have more decisive votes of permanent members of the Security Council.

"Until now, the US has dominated and there are only two countries that can occasionally appear as opposites, which are Russia and China. If these other countries enter, that would change. That is why there will be a struggle and the US will insist that countries enter which are more favorable to it. On the other hand, the pressure of the new centers of power will be so great that it will become unstoppable. You cannot deprive Africa of being represented by one or two countries, it is a powerful continent. From Asia, in addition to India and Indonesia, as candidates Turkey and Iran may appear, maybe some Arab country will want to be a competitor because of its financial power," Jovanovic says.

He adds that all of this suggests that this issue will be uncertain and protracted.

"In the meantime, we need to live and survive when we talk about Serbia. We are under attack by the unprincipled policies of Western powers, which first produced aggression against our country, then separated Kosovo from us and made it a state, recognized it, and exerted pressure on everyone, especially on us, to accept it. This is cynicism to the extreme because through the succession they committed many unlawful acts that are astounding, but apparently, they don't care much about it. For them, everything that is useful is also legal, even if it involves violating rights. They will continue with it until the world is organized on more principled foundations and until all large and small countries are forced to respect principles equally. So, we have to survive until then," Jovanovic says.
He assesses that Serbia has a policy that allows it this possibility, not only because it is independent and neutral and because it is more assertive with a booming economy and widespread relations worldwide, but also because of the dynamic balance of power in the world that does not allow any large country to act unilaterally without considering broader consequences.
"In other words, they will continue to pressure us as they do now, probably intensified from all directions, internal and external, especially from the Kosovo side, as they pretend not to see, but essentially, it is ordered harassment of the Serbs by Kurti, although it must not turn into war. The USA does not want war with us, not because they love us but because it would be counterproductive for their interests and cast a shadow on Ukraine, where they are trying to build the image of defenders of international law, and we know what kind of defenders they are and what their records are," he emphasizes.
He says that Serbia is facing challenges, but it is essential to be brave and principled.
"We need to keep our nerves, and insist on our rights, and without us, the so-called independent Kosovo can never be accepted at the United Nations because the mother country did not give consent for the separation of a part of the territory to be given to a minority. On the other hand, there is something our side does not emphasize enough, and that is we were admitted to the UN with Montenegro within our republican borders, as there was no other way after the dissolution of the last joint state," he says.
As he explains, republican borders then became state borders, and Serbia was admitted to the UN with Kosovo as an integral part.
"Now, as relations in the world change, we need to be brave and principled, not afraid and waiting for the results of these changes," Jovanovic concludes.