Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Remarks to the press by Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, following the Security Council sixth straw poll

 

V.Churkin: Ladies and gentlemen, I think you are witnessing a historic scene. I don’t know if it has ever been done this way in the history of the United Nations before. As you know we have conducted our sixth straw poll. This has been a very important process for the selection of the next Secretary-General and I think we have treated it with great responsibility. We appreciate the participation of all the candidates in this campaign. They all displayed a lot of wisdom, understanding and concern for the fate of the world. Their participation was extremely valuable and we would like to express our gratitude to all of those who participated in this campaign.

Today, after our sixth straw poll we have a clear favorite. His name is António Guterres. We have decided to go for a formal vote tomorrow morning and we hope it can be done by acclamation. This is what we are looking at and wish Mr.Guterres well in discharging his duties as the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the next five years.