No change in stand on UNSC reform, India says on US no to veto power

New Delhi/Washington, Oct 18: Reacting sharply to US suggestion that India should not insist on veto power while talking of UN reforms, Government sources on Wednesday made it clear that there was no change in India’s stand on expansion of the UN Security Council. The sources told UNI that India had made it very clear long time back that it should have 'the same obligations, responsibilities and prerogatives as the existing permanent members of the Security Council.' US Ambassador to United Nations Nikki Haley had on Tuesday said that her country was all for UN reforms to have more members in the UNSC, but the key for India to get there would be 'not to touch' the issue of veto. The five permanent members of the UNSC—the US, the UK, France, Russia and China did not want to give up veto, she said at a discussion hosted by the advocacy group India-US Friendship Council in Washington. As regards expansion of the Council without veto power, she said that US was already on board, but its were Russia and China that should be worked on as they did not want to see any changes in the UNSC. “It’s a UN issue, it’s going to require UN reform and I think, India has to go and bring together as many supporters as it can in order to really effect that change in the Security Council,’’ Ms Haley said. The government sources asserted that India would continue to press for UN reforms with powers for new permanent members at par with those of the existing five. India and several other countries believe that more powers have emerged since the UN came into being and the existing set up of the world body does not reflect the ground reality. India, along with three other G4 countries—Germany, Brazil and Japan, had met at New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push for early expansion of the UNSC with permanent and non-permanent members. UNI