“The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 left unresolved the issue of international rights and obligations of the USSR. From the point of view of international law, the issue of the status of a UN member state and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, which the Russian Federation enjoys, remains unsettled,” the Ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry stated that Russia falsely considers the issue settled, referring to the fact that since December 24, 1991, and publicly – since December 31, 1991, a country name plate for the Russian Federation appeared in the UN Security Council.

“In fact, according to the UN Charter, there has never been legitimate grounds for this,” the Ministry said.

The Ministry claimed that the Russian Federation took over the seat of a permanent member of the UN Security Council bypassing the procedures defined by the UN Charter, and noted that “this happened on the basis of an ordinary letter from the President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin, addressed to the UN Secretary-General, which was sent on December 24, 31 years ago.”

“Therefore, the Russian Federation has never gone through the legal procedure to be admitted to membership and therefore illegally occupies the seat of the USSR in the UN Security Council. From a legal and political point of view, there can be only one conclusion: Russia is a usurper of the Soviet Union's seat in the UN Security Council,” the Ministry added. (ILKHA)