Thursday, June 18 2020 12:36

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).