Russia fails to win back UN aviation council seat in rebuke

MONTREAL: Russia failed to secure enough support on Saturday (Sep 27) to be re-elected to the United Nations aviation agency’s governing council, in the latest rebuke over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow received 87 votes, falling short of the 93 needed to regain a seat on the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) 36-member council during the agency’s assembly in Montreal. The meeting runs through Oct 3.

Russia lost its council seat in 2022, when members removed it from the group of states deemed of “chief importance in air transport” following its invasion of Ukraine.

A Russian delegate immediately called for a repeat round of voting, which the assembly rejected.

RUSSIA SAYS MOVE HARMS ICAO

Russia’s transport ministry said its exclusion “damages the authority and effectiveness of the organization”.

The ICAO should operate “on the basis of broad international consensus, not narrow political interests”, the ministry said, adding that Moscow had received growing backing from the BRICS grouping and countries in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

The ICAO sets global civil aviation safety standards, with the council playing a key role in that process.

CONDEMNATION OVER SAFETY NORMS

In addition to the war in Ukraine, Russia has faced criticism at the ICAO for interfering with navigation signals, including the Global Navigation Satellite System and GPS. Moscow denies the allegations.

“They are the most aggressive abuser and violator of international agreements and international norms,” US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Reuters earlier this week.

“How could we let someone come into a world organisation that is truly making the airspace more dangerous, not more safe?” he said.