Russia to support India’s bid for permanent UNSC seat

Russia will back India’s bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) if a decision to expand the body is made, President Dmitry Medvedev has said.

The Russian leader said that Moscow considers India “a strong, and real” candidate for joining the body as a permanent member. The statement was made Medvedev’s joint conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after their talks in the Russian capital. “India is a privileged partner for us,” Medvedev pointed out. He stressed that "all UN countries should agree and reform the Security Council according to a jointly approved scenario." "There is no need for India to doubt Russia's support," Medvedev assured Singh, as cited by Interfax.Currently, there are five permanent members with veto power in the UNSC – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US. Ten other members of the body are elected once every two years.An expansion of the council – which was established back in 1946, shortly after WWII – has been discussed for years now. Many agree that it is time to reform the UNSC, since the world has changed a lot and so have the challenges that the international community faces. Several countries are now seeking permanent seats on the council, including the so-called G4 group, comprised of India, Japan, Germany and Brazil.On Friday, Medvedev and Singh met to discuss acute international issues as well as bilateral cooperation in trade, atomic energy, defense and other areas. As a result of the talks in Moscow, the sides have signed a number of agreements and issued a statement on Russian-Indian strategic partnership.