Tuesday, November 8 2005 09:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The United Nations would be happy to help and facilitate the process of fact-finding inquiry instituted by India into the controversial references made in the Volcker Committee report, its Under Secretary Shashi Tharoor said yesterday (Nov 7, 2005).

He told NDTV that there was no presumption of guilt in the adverse references made in the report on oil-for-food programme in Iraq and the report is not tantamount to a legal chargesheet or a finding that some wrong has been committed.

Tharoor said the report, however, make suggestions on which further question could be asked and "that is what is now happening in India, which I think is good for all concerned, including those named in the report." He said the UN Secretary General had asked him to convey and he had conveyed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Natwar Singh that the UN had not come to any judgement whatsoever in the matter.

He said the UN fully respected the procedures to be adopted by India in arriving at the truth and that it was fully in consistent with the spirit in which the Secretary General has put the report in public and member states.

"We intend and expect this to continue. We are willing to facilitate, if required, but we don't need to give the telephone numbers and addresses of Volcker or members of the Committee which is a matter of public record," Tharoor said.

"There is nothing that prevents Virendra Dayal or anyone from Indian Press from contacting Volcker. We certainly hope to help in this process," he said.