04 January 2005	Tuesday	22 Ziqa'ad 1425

NEW DELHI, Jan 3: India will not accept permanent seat in the UN Security Council without veto power, the External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh said.

"Our prime minister has already made it clear that any discrimination in the enlarged group of permanent members in the Security Council will not be acceptable." Mr Singh said that India's stand was clear in this regard.

The minister said India had backing from Oman, UAE and Bahrain from the Arab world, adding he would be visiting more countries in the region seeking their support for India's bid for a permanent seat.

India also has the backing of UK, France and Russia and the Russian President Vladimir Putin has categorically said recently that India should be made a permanent member with veto powers.

China has held the view that a member should be from the developing world. He said Japan, Brazil, Germany and India had been coordinating the efforts to expand the security Council though the process would take time, as it would need a review of the UN charter. -APP