Russia is set to assume the role of President of the United Nations Security Council in the month marking the 80th anniversary of the global organization, reports TASS. Vasiliy Nebenzya, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, will present the work program of the council, responsible for maintaining international peace and security, during a press conference at the organization’s headquarters.

The presidency of the Security Council rotates monthly. Russia is taking over from South Korea and will hand over this responsibility to Sierra Leone in November. Russia last presided over the work of the fundamental structure of the global organization in July 2024.

This time, Russia’s presidency coincides with the month of the UN’s founding. The official birthdate of the global organization is considered to be October 24, 1945, when the Soviet Union submitted the ratification document, ensuring the necessary number of ratifications for the UN Charter to come into force.

The president’s duties include drafting the preliminary schedule for the month, coordinating decisions on holding emergency meetings of the Security Council, and resolving procedural questions regarding the conduct of meetings. Typically, the first meeting of the month in the Security Council becomes the meeting of the council’s members, during which the preliminary program is approved. Afterward, the head of the hosting country’s permanent representation holds a press conference and a closed briefing for the member states of the UN General Assembly.

Usually, the UN Security Council conducts around 20 meetings in various formats each month. Last month, the council surpassed the milestone of its 10,000th meeting in its history, during which nearly 2,800 resolutions have been adopted.

One of the main topics last month, which may continue into October, was the issue of sanctions against Iran. At the end of September, the UN Security Council rejected a draft resolution proposed by Russia and China that suggested extending the operation of Security Council Resolution 2231 by another six months in support of the Iran nuclear deal. On September 28, UN sanctions against Iran came into force after the “E3” (United Kingdom, France, and Germany) activated the snapback mechanism. At the same time, Russia has stated that the restoration of restrictions against Iran is invalid, as the snapback activation was conducted with violations. The expiration of Resolution 2231 is on October 18. As stated by Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, any restrictions and rules stipulated by Resolution 2231, including those concerning Iran’s nuclear program, will lose their relevance after that date.