Russia’s presence at UN council meeting is a surprise, says professor

In an interview with CNN This Thursday (22), Barbara Mota, professor of International Relations at the Federal University of Sergipe, said that Russia’s presence at the UN Security Council meeting today is a surprise.

“The participation of the representative of Russia is a surprise. Until then, the information we had was that Russia would not be at the meeting, and even doubts whether the representative of China would also participate, he said.

According to her, the fact that representatives from both countries are on the council signals the interest in “trying to have some kind of interference or control over any decision adopted at the meeting”, said Barbara.

On Wednesday (21), Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of the population for the Ukraine war and threatened to use “all available means” to guarantee the security and integrity of Russian territory. He also commented on the use of tactical nuclear weapons.

According to Barbara, this level of Putin’s alert is given as a “deterrent to restrain the main western powers from having more emphatic reactions on plebicites in Ukrainian regions”.

Two Russian-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine announced plans to hold referendums on Russia’s membership later this week and a Putin ally said the votes would change the geopolitical landscape in Moscow’s favor forever.