Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov backed India’s bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council during his address at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Lavrov called for reforms to the Security Council and argued that its composition should better reflect the current global balance, with greater representation for developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Russia has previously said it supports expanding the number of permanent members while retaining the existing veto system.
India has long campaigned for permanent membership of the 15-member Security Council, which currently has five permanent members — China, France, Russia, the UK and the US — and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.
India’s Push For UNSC Reform
India has served eight times as a non-permanent member of the Security Council and formally put forward its candidature for a permanent seat during the 49th UN General Assembly in 1994. New Delhi has argued that the Council needs to become more representative of contemporary global realities.
India’s campaign has received support from several countries and groups in recent years. Four Visegrád Group countries — Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic — also backed India’s permanent membership bid during meetings on the sidelines of the current UN General Assembly session.
The push comes amid wider discussions over reforming the Security Council, including proposals to expand both permanent and non-permanent membership.
However, any change to the Council’s permanent membership would require an amendment to the UN Charter and agreement among UN member states.
Lavrov’s remarks therefore add Russia’s support to India’s longstanding campaign as discussions over reform continue at the United Nations.