UN Security Council is in deadlock – President of Kazakhstan

Al Jazeera: Right now the Astana International Forum is underway. Is it a sign that Kazakhstan believes middle powers need to play a bigger role in upholding the international multilateral system?

- Yes, I strongly believe in multilateralism and I strongly believe that it is so-called middle powers should play bigger role in safeguarding peace and security in the world.

Al Jazeera: Do you think, sir, that sometimes the great powers might be undermining the multilateral system? I mean, sometimes we hear rhetoric from some of the great powers talking about “America First”, talking about the importance of bilateral rather than multilateral mechanisms.

- Yes, it's happening now and the multilateralism is faltering. You know that the Security Council of the United Nations is in deadlock. It has no power, has no might to tackle any key international issue.

Al Jazeera: Is that a threat to the world?

- Yes, it's a big threat. It's a big challenge to the world. That's why I believe that middle powers like Kazakhstan should play a bigger, more important role in tackling and addressing major international issues. And that's why Kazakhstan is strongly committed to reforming the United Nations. In the beginning of United Nations history, there were only 51 states that are being considered as founding members of the United Nations. Nowadays, we have 193 states.

Recall that in his article for Euronews last May, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed that middle powers hold the key to preserving multilateralism.