Russia supports India’s candidacy as permanent member of UNSC

Russia , one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, has supported  India’s candidacy for a permanent seat at  UNSC. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the  Russia, India and China (RIC) meeting held on June 23 discussed probable reforms of the United Nations and India is a strong nominee to become a permanent member of the UNSC. Moscow supports India’s candidacy and believes India can become a full-fledged member of the Security Council. Foreign ministers of the RIC discussed reforms of the United Nations during the trilateral meet held through video conferencing. UNSC comprises five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members. India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for a two-year term recently. India’s two -year term is from January 1, 2021. Reaction of China which has been opposition India’s entry into the UNSC as a permanent member, is not available. India was represented by Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar. He emphasized the need for observance of international laws, treaties and conventions by all nations with obvious reference to Sino-India face-offs at LAC. With Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi looking on, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said that recognising the “legitimate interests of partners”, along with respecting international law, is key to building a durable world order. Jaishankar made a strong case for a greater role for India in the decision-making of international organisations such as the United Nations (UN) and in what India has been describing as a reformed multilateral world order. The initial remarks of the three foreign ministers were televised live, after which they switched to  ‘closed-door’ discussions. As per protocols, bilateral issues are not discussed in the RIC  conclave of Russia, India and China. (edited by PK Chakravarty)