United Nations: Russia has said it does not foresee “a historic compromise” being reached in the near future on admitting new permanent members in the UN Security Council, an assessment that does not bode well for India's bid for a permanent seat in a reformed Council.
“On the Security Council reform, the negotiation has been there for a long time. We want a historic compromise to be reached between the two main camps - those who want to have new permanent members and those who don't want new permanent members,” Russia's Permanent Representative and President of the Security Council for the month of September Vitaly Churkin told reporters during a briefing here yesterday.
Churkin said those who do not want new permanent members advocate a new category under an intermediate option of having countries that will be elected for a longer period of time than the current two years for non-permanent members. “At this point I do not see that historic compromise any way near,” Churkin said.
Churkin's statement runs counter to India's quest of achieving UNSC reforms without any further delay. India feels that the 70th anniversary of the UN, being commemorated this year, is an appropriate milestone to propel the reform process, which should be completed within the next one year.
India has maintained that the process to expand the powerful UN body “cannot be seen to be an exercise ad infinitum” and a results-based timeline is crucial to achieve a concrete outcome.
