Burç Eruygur
01 September 2026•Update: 01 September 2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called for improving the effectiveness of the UN and adapting the organization to “changing realities.”
Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) expanded summit in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, Putin said that although not everything about the UN’s work “pleases or satisfies” everyone, the organization should, “without a doubt,” continue to play a central role in global affairs.
“Yet, the UN's potential appears to be far from realized, and it is essential to make efforts to improve its effectiveness, expand the representation of its bodies, including in the Security Council, by including countries from the Global South and East, and generally adapt it to changing realities and the fundamental changes emerging in global politics and economics,” Putin said.
Arguing that the formation of a “new, truly just” multipolar world order is “irreversible,” Putin said the UN’s unifying and constructive role is particularly relevant in this context.
He said the UN must retain its functions as the primary mechanism for “reconciling interests,” adding that the UN Charter must remain the key source of international law.
“It is clear that, alongside the United Nations, new multilateral regional structures that have emerged and gained strength in Asia, Africa, and Latin America are organically integrating into the architecture of a multipolar world. Our Shanghai Cooperation Organization is precisely one such structure,” Putin said.
He also expressed hope that the “SCO Plus” meeting would contribute to “strengthening friendly ties between all countries represented here and will serve to intensify broad cooperation in a wide range of areas.”
The Russian president arrived in Bishkek on Monday to attend the latest SCO summit, which coincides with the organization’s 25th anniversary.
Earlier Tuesday, Putin also attended the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting, where he addressed the organization’s leaders.
