M A I N   N E W S

India not to insist on veto power
T.R. Ramachandran
Tribune News Service

Moscow, May 8
Even as Russia has affirmed its support to India in an expanded United Nations Security Council at a ‘very high level’, India is not holding on to a veto and ‘if there is no veto at all, New Delhi will be happy with that as well’.

What India is desirous of in principle is to move towards greater democratisation of the United Nations on the basis of non-discrimination with greater participation of developing countries in the decision-making process, according to Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran.

He said this here aboard Air India One carrying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his three-day visit to the Russian Federation for the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Great Patriotic War.

“A reformed and expanded UNSC has become necessary to meet the global challenges that calls for multilateral action while controlling one’s own destiny,” he said.

“India is realistic that the challenges before the world body are complex and it for the first time in many years that certain momentum for reforms has been built. There is a certain window of opportunity and it is necessary to safeguard the interests of the developing world,” Mr Saran observed.

Pointing out that the G-4 (India, Japan, Germany and Brazil) has played an extremely important role in this regard, he said this grouping was not fixated on the veto issue even as the P-5 is against providing any additional veto in an expanded Security Council.

“We will have to see how the framework resolution is evolved as well as the negotiations on the membership issue. New Delhi has been lobbying with the developing countries as well as in Africa and Latin America,” he said.

He said the Prime Minister had specially come to Moscow to recognise the sacrifices and to pay India’s tribute to the millions of people and soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice in protecting their liberty and right to live from the marauding Hitlerlism thus ending the World War II.

Much significance is attached to Dr Singh’s bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow in the midst of the celebrations when the two leaders are expected to review the progress achieved on various fronts for 30 minutes after the latter’s visit to India in December last year.

Mr Putin and Dr Singh are expected to discuss energy, security and further investments in the oil and gas sector in the country, upgrading defence R and D and joint production, providing Indian software in banking and probably the oil and gas sector and moving towards a government-to-government intellectual property rights agreement, observed India’s ambassador to Moscow.