Netanyahu Asks Kazakhstan to Back Israeli Bid for Security Council Seat

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said he had asked the president of Kazakhstan to support Israel's application for a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council in 2019-2020...

'My hope is, and I say this to all our friends, that the great partnership that we are building here will also be reflected in international forums like the UN. That's beginning to happen. The ship doesn't move overnight; we understand that, it's a big ship. But it's going to change, it's changing already,' Netanyahu told President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana's Akorda presidential palace during a joint appearance before the press.

It was in that context that he asked Azarbayev to support Israel's bid for a seat in the Security Council, Netanyahu said, adding that Jerusalem backed Kazakhstan's successful application to the Security Council. The former Soviet republic will take up its non-permanent seat on January 1, 2017. Kazakhstan - territoriality, the ninth-largest state in the world - traditionally follows the lead of its top ally, Russia, in supporting pro-Palestinian resolutions, a stance Netanyahu is keen to alter.

'Now, if you want a real change in the world, imagine the State of Israel on the Security Council of the United Nations - that's a change,' Netanyahu exclaimed. 'I think it's possible and with your help it will be realized.'

Elections for the 2019-2010 seats will be held in the summer of 2018.

Israel has been publicly eyeing a seat on the important world body since at least 2013. Jerusalem is planning to apply for one of two spots allocated to the Western European and Other Group (WEOG), to which it was admitted in 2000..."