New Delhi, June 23: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who participated in the trilateral meeting with his Indian and Chinese counterparts today, said India should be considered for a spot among the permanent members of United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Lavrov claimed that Moscow would completely back New Delhi's bid to be granted a permanent seat in the top UN body.

"Today we talked of probable reforms of the United Nations and India is a strong nominee to become a permanent member of UN Security Council and we support India's candidacy. We believe it can become a full-fledged member of the Security Council," Lavrov said.

Lavrov, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi participated in the RIC (Russia-India-China) virtual dialogue on Tuesday. The three leaders discussed an array of regional and strategic issues.

Jaishankar reportedly called for focus on multilateralism and upholding of international laws. "The challenge today is not just one of concepts and norms, but equally of their practice. The leading voices of the world must be exemplars in every way," he said.

"Respecting international law, recognising the legitimate interests of partners, supporting multilateralism and promoting common good are the only way of building a durable world order," Jaishankar added.

The RIC dialogue comes days after India was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the eighth time, on a rotational duration. The UNSC has a total of 15 member-nations, five among them being permanent which hold veto powers.

The five permanent countries in the Security Council are: the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russian Federation and France. They were included in the group based on their alliance in the Second World War.

For the past several years, a number of countries including a couple of permanent members have demanded an amendment in the UNSC Charter to allow the expansion of the core group of five nations. Among countries that have raised the bid to be included are India, South Korea, Japan and Brazil, among others.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 23, 2020 04:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).