Russia backs India's candidacy for permanent member of UNSC

Russia has extended its support for India’s bid to get permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and also commended New Delhi for adeptly managing contentious issues during the G20 Summit, terming it a “true triumph” of Indian foreign policy. The UNSC currently comprises five permanent members and ten non-permanent members. India has persistently advocated for permanent membership in the UNSC, emphasising the need for United Nations reform to align with the evolving global landscape. The existing permanent members include the UK, China, Russia, the US, and France. “We support India’s candidacy for joining” the UN Security Council as a permanent member, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after holding talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that the India-Russia relationship has been “very strong and very steady” and he believes that both countries have lived up to a special and privileged strategic partnership. In his opening remarks during the meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Jaishankar said, “Our relationship has been very strong, very steady. And I think we have lived up to a special and privileged strategic partnership. This year we have already met six times, and this is our seventh meet.” Lavrov said the G20 Summit that took place in New Delhi earlier this year was a “true triumph of India’s foreign policy; it was a triumph of multilateral diplomacy, which has become possible, to a decisive degree, because the G20 Chair did not allow making the outcome document unilateral. The outcome document reflects the balance of interests”. “This is a model of how to work within the G20 and, by the way, in the UN and the Security Council, he said. In G20, India managed to bring together nations with starkly divergent views on Ukraine. The G20 joint declaration that avoided direct criticism of Russia for its war against Ukraine is being described as a significant diplomatic win for India, the host of the summit. The declaration garnered unanimous support from all G20 member nations, without a single dissenting note, with the key players, including the US, the UK, Russia and China, praising the outcome. Moscow ready to launch the production of modern weapons under ‘Make in India’ Lavrov on Wednesday said that Moscow is ready to launch the production of modern weapons under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Lavrov said this while addressing a news conference after holding talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar here. Jaishankar is on a five-day visit to Russia. He said they discussed the outlook for military-technical cooperation, including joint production of modern weapons, between Russia and India, the state-run news agency TASS reported. There is concrete progress on this track, Lavrov said. The diplomat said Russia understands and is ready to support New Delhi’s initiative, “producing military-purpose goods as part of the Make in India programme”. “We are ready to cooperate on this issue, he said. Russia has been the major supplier of defence equipment to India. However, after India and the US stepped up their bilateral ties, New Delhi has diversified its import of military equipment to include many American defence items. Lavrov also said that the North-South transport corridor project will be implemented “in the near time”. Russia, India and Iran signed an intergovernmental agreement on the creation of the North-South multimodal transport corridor in 2000. The number of participants expanded to 14 later. The project goal is to bring transit freight traffic from India, Iran and Persian Gulf countries via the Russian territory to Europe. The project brings together several different transport systems of individual countries at present. Lavrov said the project “caused great enthusiasm among countries, on which its implementation depends, and it will be definitely realised in the near time. The foreign minister said Russia and India have agreed on the “whole range of steps making possible for us to broaden cooperation, particularly in the context of the start of the North-South international transport corridor being prepared, creation of the Chennai-Vladivostok route and cooperation on Northern Sea Route development this is a very promising line. In his opening remarks before the bilateral talks with Lavrov, Jaishankar said it was always good to be in Moscow. “I agree with you that our relationship has been very strong, very steady, and I think we have lived up to the responsibilities of a special and privileged strategic partnership,” he said. Jaishankar said that during his meeting with Lavrov, “we will focus on bilateral cooperation in different spheres, adjusting it to changing circumstances and demands”. “We will discuss the international strategic situation, conflicts and tensions where they are. Also, focus on development challenges that the Global South faces. And of course, the state of multilateralism and the building of a multi-polar world order,” he said. With inputs from agencies.