All countries should be permanent members of UN Security Council, Erdogan says

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan took his long-standing call for reform of the United Nations a step further on Friday, saying all nations should become permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), Trend reported.

Erdogan, frustrated with the deadlock at the 15-nation UNSC over Syria, has repeatedly called for a reform of the world body. On Thursday, he said the fate of the world "cannot be left to what comes out of the mouth of the five permanent members," complaining that the stalemate of the UN encourages President Bashar al-Assad's regime to continue using violence to suppress rebellion against his rule.

Responding to questions on his call for reform on Friday at a panel session in Bali, Indonesia, Erdogan said he was opposed to world countries being divided into "permanent" and "non-permanent" members. "I believe this categorization is wrong. If there should be permanent members, then all members of the UN should be permanent members, because the UN Charter says, big or small, all member countries are equal," he stated.

According to Erdogan, permanent membership could rotate among countries on an annual basis.