NEW DELHI, July 27: China on Wednesday rejected India’s claim that the African Union countries had reached a consensus on accepting a UN Security Council structure minus the veto right.
Indian reports from Beijing said China, which is spearheading the anti-G4 draft resolution on UNSC reforms, questioned reports, including an Indian statement on Tuesday that the African Union (AU) has reached a ‘primary consensus’ with India, Brazil, Germany and Japan on the sensitive issue.
“According to our knowledge, representatives from the Group of Four and the AU held consultation in London on Monday, but they failed to reach any agreement,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan was quoted by Press Trust of India as saying.
Mr Kong maintained that the Group of Four and the African Union (AU) were yet to reach consensus on the reform of United Nations Security Council. Mr Kong made the remark in response to the report that the G4 have reached a primary consensus with the AU on Security Council reform, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Tuesday, an Indian foreign ministry spokesman had reported a breakthrough in the discussions between G4 foreign ministers and the AU Follow-up Mechanism “after intensive negotiations lasting the whole day” on Monday in London. According to the Indian version the AU agreed not to press the issue of the veto at this time.
