ArmInfo.Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir has been elected president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, which begins in September 2020.
Bozkir was elected chairman of the UN General Assembly despite the protests of Armenia, Greece and Cyprus.
Bozkir, who was running uncontested, won unanimous support of the 178 UN members that were present and voting on Wednesday, Xinhua reported.
He will take over from Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, the current General Assembly president, in September. A General Assembly president has a one-year term.
As ArmInfo previously reported with reference to the press secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Anna Nahgdalyan, Armenia, Cyprus and Greece are demanding a vote on the candidacy of the chairman of the next, 75th in a row, UN General Assembly, which Turkey is applying for. Naghdalyan then recalled that according to the principle of geographical rotation at the UN, the representative of the East European country should be elected the chairman of the 75th session of the General Assembly. "The candidate from Turkey Volkan Bozkir is the only one for this post. Armenia, Greece and Cyprus, in violation of the silence procedure, sent a letter to the President of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, demanding a vote. I would like to emphasize that even at the request of one country, voting is mandatory, "the representative of the RA MFA noted, while stating that this is the first time that the only candidate for the post of head of the General Assembly is put to the vote.
At the same time, Naghdalyan assured that the desire of Turkey to take this post is of concern not only to the Armenian side, but also to a number of international partners. "Armenia, Cyprus and Greece made a letter of violation of the silence procedure. Moreover, Armenia and Cyprus submitted a joint letter, which specifically states that" Turkey threatens the peace and security of the entire region, and in order to achieve regional dominance, constantly violates the UN Charter and international law, including the UN sanctions regime.
The Armenian side also voiced the issue of the blockade of the country by Turkey, which has been going on for more than three decades, its policy of constant denial of the Armenian Genocide and even justification of this crime. In a joint letter, Armenia and Cyprus emphasized that the chair of the UN General Assembly should be occupied by a representative of a country whose actions and policies are consistent with UN norms and values. Obviously, Turkey is not the best country that can meet these standards, "Naghdalyan concluded.
It should be noted that three months before the start of a new session of the General Assembly, its chairperson is also elected. The candidacy for the post of chairman of the General Assembly is put forward on the principle of rotation from regional groups: African, Asian, Eastern European, Latin American and Caribbean, Western European, etc. Elections are held by secret ballot by simple majority vote. The 74th session of the UN General Assembly opened on September 17 under the chairmanship of Tijjani Muhammad-Bande (Nigeria).