At UN, Russia backs India's bid for permanent Security Council seat

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov backed India’s candidature for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) during his address to the UN General Assembly.Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives Russian President Vladimir Putin for a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. (PTI File Photo)Lavrov said Russia supports a broader representation of Asia, Africa and Latin America in the Council, specifically endorsing the bids of India and Brazil.“We are in favour of broadening the representation of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We support Brazil's and India's candidatures for a permanent seat,” Lavrov said.Russia opposes more Western seatsLavrov stressed that any reform of the Security Council should preserve the prerogatives of its permanent members and should not result in additional seats for Western nations.“UN Security Council reform cannot involve any additional seats being allocated to Western countries, especially to Germany and Japan, who are now on the path to militarism and revanchism,” Lavrov stated, reported news agency ANI.The current permanent members of the Security Council are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. They hold veto powers, while 10 non-permanent members serve two-year terms.Any structural change to the Council requires a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly, ratification by two-thirds of UN member states and the explicit concurrence of all five permanent members.Push for Global SouthLavrov also called for greater representation of the Global South, particularly Africa, as part of a broader reform of the UN's top security body.“We must satisfy the interests of the African continent in keeping with the Israeli consensus and the SEAT declaration,” he added.BRICS nations, including Russia, had earlier reiterated their support for the aspirations of Brazil and India to play a greater role in the UN, including the Security Council, in the New Delhi declaration.The issue of reform has also featured prominently in the ongoing general debate at the UN headquarters, with several countries calling for the Council to better reflect present-day geopolitical and economic realities.India gets backing from other countriesMauritius explicitly backed India's candidature during its address to the UNGA.Mauritian foreign minister Dhananjay Ramful said, “We support the positions of the G4 and of L69 on Council reform, and we reiterate our support for India's candidature for a permanent seat, commensurate with its constructive role in global affairs.”Portugal also backed structural reform, with Prime Minister Luis Montenegro calling for a more representative Security Council with permanent representation for Africa, Brazil and India.The four-nation G4 alliance also received support from the Marshall Islands. President Hilda Heine said, “The Marshall Islands affirms its longstanding support for Japan and its G4 partners to achieve permanent membership on the UN Security Council.”Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi did not name individual G4 candidates in her address but called for urgent reform of the Council.“We need to transform it without delay into a structure that truly reflects the current realities of the international community," she said.(With ANI inputs)