ADDIS ABABA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Friday expressed its strong support for Africa's aspiration to get more representation at the United Nations Security Council.
"The most important priority is to expand the representation of the developing region of the world, Africa included," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who met with African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, in Addis Ababa.
"Russia consistently assumed that there is a need to reform the Security Council," Lavrov said in a joint press conference with Mahamat at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital.
Lavrov said Russia is "willing to consider any option" to raise the representation of developing countries at the Security Council, noting that the developed countries are not under-represented at the council.
Russia does not think it possible to expand the UN Security Council "if this package does not include the issue of the African representations too," he said.
Lavrov said Africa's representation will introduce an additional value to the UN Security Council's reform agenda.
In 2005, Africa established a united position on UN reform, calling for the inclusion of two permanent and five non-permanent seats for African countries on the UN Security Council and extension of veto powers (should they remain) to new permanent members.
