Russia supports India for permanent seat in UNSC, Russian Ambassador

Beijing: The Russian Ambassador, while in China, demanded that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) be expanded to include India as a permanent member. Russian Ambassador Andrey Denisov made this demand in front of senior Chinese officials during a function held in China. On prior occasions, too, Russia had officially supported India’s permanent membership of the UNSC. However, the Russian Ambassador in China announcing support for India’s seat in UNSC while in Beijing seems to be a message directed to China.

The United States, Russia, Great Britain, France, and China are the permanent members of the UN Security Council. These countries have the veto power to stop any proposal in the UNSC, allowing them to overturn any decision taken by the UNSC. This veto power has been consistently used to safeguard their interests. Over the last few years, India, Japan, Germany, and Brazil’s importance has been increasing globally, and these countries have staked their claim on permanent seats in the UNSC.

Russia supports India and Brazil to be added as permanent members of the UNSC as the representation of Asia, Latin America and Africa is needed in the UNSC. Russian Ambassador Andrey Denisov said this would strengthen the democratic functioning of the council. He added that the current Security Council is under the influence of the westerners, and only matters acceptable to the westerners are presented in front of the world as the final truth. Hence there is a need to reform the UNSC framework urgently.

Ambassador Denisov expressed these frank views while addressing the UN World Peace Forum held in the Chinese capital city of Beijing. He said that the situation would not change with the inclusion of Germany and Japan in the Security Council. However, this will not be true if India and Brazil are added as both countries have independent policies.

Russia, France, Britain, and the US have supported India for a permanent seat at the UNSC. However, China has been the only permanent member who has opposed India’s inclusion on many occasions, citing technical reasons. Therefore, the support announced by Russia for India’s permanent membership in a function held in Beijing is a message from Russia to China. Russia has warned China that the traditional friendly cooperation between India and Russia will continue in the future.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded the cancellation of the permanent membership status of Russia in the UNSC. Some had supported this demand. But the United States disposed of the matter, saying that this was not possible within the framework of UN regulations. However, this once again opened the issue of expansion of the UNSC. The claim of India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council has become the topic of discussion. Against this background, Russia has grabbed everyone’s attention by supporting India and Brazil for the permanent membership of the UNSC but opposing Germany and Japan.