Russia backs India, Brazil for permanent membership in UN Security Council

Russia has voiced its support for India and Brazil as worthy candidates for permanent membership in the UN Security Council calling them key international actorsDuring the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday expressed his support for India becoming a permanent member of the Security CouncilIn his address to the General Assembly just an hour before External Affairs Minister S Jaishankars speech Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the UN and Security Council have to be aligned to contemporary realitiesHe said Moscow sees the prospect of making the Security Council more democratic exclusively through broadening the representation of countries from Africa Asia and Latin AmericaWe note India and Brazil in particular as key international actors and worthy candidates for permanent membership within the Council whilst simultaneously unilaterally and mandatorily raising the profile of Africa Lavrov saidAlso Read Russia Vladimir Putin orders partial mobilisation of citizens threatens nuclear retaliationIndia has been at the forefront of efforts at the UN to push for urgent longpending reform of the Security Council emphasising that it rightly deserves a place at the UN high table as a permanent memberAt present the UNSC comprises five permanent members and 10 nonpermanent member countries which are elected for a twoyear term by the General Assembly of the United NationsThe five permanent members are Russia the UK China France and the United States and these countries can veto any substantive resolution There has been growing demand to increase the number of permanent members to reflect the contemporary global realityLater addressing a press conference at UN headquarters Saturday he was asked why he mentioned only India and Brazil for permanent membership and not South AfricaI said that we view India and Brazil as strong candidates given they are leading international players as strong candidates for permanent membership at the Security Council with the condition that at the same time in the same way the profile of Africa will be raised Lavrov saidI mentioned India and Brazil for a single reason They have long officially advanced their candidatures As for South Africa the Republic of South Africa this step has not been put forward he said adding that Members of the African Union are committed to the Ezulwini ConsensusHe added that addressing the question of expansion of the Security Council without reflecting the interests of Africans is not possible iquestAgain I emphasize that were talking exclusively about expansion of the Security Council membership with the representatives of Asia Africa and Latin AmericaBecause if we had to talk about an additional inclusion in the Security Council of Western countries well that would be humorous for a number of reasons I will set aside the fact that they are all hostile to the Russian Federation and the Peoples Republic of ChinaHe said if political assessments were to be set aside what new would any additional western country bring to the Security Council He said western countries can provide absolutely nothing to the Council and they are all following the orders of the United StatesHe said next year with the addition of Japan to the Council as a nonpermanent member there will be seven countries representing the western group in the 15nation Council He said there is not an iota of difference between the policy of Japan and that of the United StatesIndia is currently halfway through the second year of its twoyear term as an elected nonpermanent member of the UN Security CouncilIndias tenure at the Council will end in December when the country will also preside as President of the powerful UN organ for the monthThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever