India permanent member of UNSC by 2012 end : Hardeep Puri
December 2012, that's the deadline India has set for itself to become a permanent UNSC member. India's Ambassador to the United Nations Hardeep Puri told Headlines Today on Friday it's only a matter of time before China backs India's bid.
Saying China may have certain reservations, Puri maintained "positions are not cast in stones", and "by 2012 end" India will become a permanent member of the UNSC.
"India entered the UN after 19 years, and we have no intentions of leaving," Puri told Executive Editor Rahul Kanwal in an exclusive interview.
In fact, Puri told Headlines Today, the end of 2012 was an "outer limit". India can make it to the UNSC "much earlier".
Puri says he doesn't see any problem on the Chinese front, when it comes to the UNSC reform.
"It is in China's interest to have India as the permanent member at the UNSC. There is high degree of convergence between the two countries. Our voting records are similar, when it comes to resolutions," Puri said.
Maintaining "I have the full support of the Ministry of External Affairs", Puri said India is preparing final documents that will set the ball rolling for India's place at the high table.
"We are in the last lap of the race. We need 228 votes at the UN. We are almost there," Puri told Rahul Kanwal.
Puri said the world is watching India, which should not give out any negative signals.
"I don't see any intermediary solutions. You have only two categories: permanent or non-permanent memberships," he said.
Puri said the G-4 countries (Brazil, Japan, Germany and India) have "credentials" and have "demonstrated" their responsibility to be reckoned for the UN reform.
"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is extremely hopeful. He has made it a priority," Puri said, adding, "we have the political backing".
Responding to a question on the UN's anti-terror mechanism, Puri said there has been a "paradigm shift" in how the world body sees the menace.
"The issue (of terror) was earlier looked at in terms of definition etc. Now any act of terror will not be tolerated at any cost by the member countries," the envoy said.
If "any country chooses" to break the rule, it will do so at its own peril, Puri said, without naming Pakistan.
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India may enter UNSC by 2012 end, says envoy to UN Hardeep Puri : North: News India Today
