External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who concluded a week-long visit to the United Nations, said it would be premature to comment on positions countries, including India, are taking on the issue of whether any permanent membership for India to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) came with veto power. The Minister was speaking to the Indian press at a briefing on Saturday afternoon.
“So I think it’d be very premature to comment either on our own positions or other people’s positions at this stage,” the Minister said, adding that at this stage, the emphasis was on ensuring that there was some tangible basis to the negotiations.
India has been campaigning hard, including this past week, for a permanent seat on the Council and currently all five permanent members (the P-5) of the world’s top security body have veto rights. While a number of countries have shown support for India’s membership, including the U.S. and Russia, the question remains open, if this comes with veto rights.
