Sunday, May 8 2005 19:11 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Onboard Prime Minister's Special Aircraft: Recognising that the process of UN reforms is "very complex", India today (May 8, 2005) said it is not fixated on veto issue but wants all members of the Security Council to be treated equally on the principle of non-discrimination and democratisation.

"It is not that we want to hold on to veto. We will be very happy if there is no veto at all," Indian officials accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters.

"Rather than being fixated on veto or non-veto, it is important to understand the principle that we are trying to uphold that of non-discriminatory reforms of the UN and its democratisation," they stressed.

India is looking at a broader picture of reforms of the UN including that of the Security Council and expects that these will be carried forward, they said.

Observing that India is very conscious of the fact that the process of reform is "very difficult and very complex", it strongly feels that the member States "ought to be moving towards greater democratisation.

The officials said that for the first time in many years there was a momentum for democratisation and to make UN more effective in the interest of majority of developing countries.

It was important for India that the UN reforms helped create an environment where there was greater participation of larger number of developing nations in the decision-making process, they said.

India is of the view that the entire gamut of reforms should be moving in the direction of greater democratisation and ensuring greater participation in collectively confronting the global challenges.

On Russia's support to India's bid for permanent membership, they said "there is no reason for us to keep on looking for a reaffirmation of its backing. Russian support has been conveyed to us at a very high level. We have no reason to believe that there is a shift in that."

The officials said the G-4 comprising India, Germany, Japan and Brazil, was very much part and parcel of New Delhi's strategy to take the reforms process forward.

India wants to take on board all the 191 members of the UN in the reforms process, they contended.