WASHINGTON, April 15: The United States has indicated to India it may not support its efforts to join the UN Security Council as a permanent member, though avoiding a direct no to the Indian request.

At a joint press conference with visiting Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh on Thursday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made it clear that Washington viewed New Delhi’s quest in the context of a broader reform of the United Nations.

Asked why the US did not support India’s candidature as strongly as it supported Japan’s, Ms Rice said Japan was the second largest contributor to the UN. But, she said, the United States also viewed Japan’s case in the context of overall UN reforms.

Then, almost as an afterthought, she sweetened her polite refusal to support India’s candidature by saying the US recognized India’s rising influence in world affairs and believed it had a place of ‘consequence’ in the UN.

Asked what he thought of Ms Rice’s perspective, Natwar said India qualified for a permanent membership of the UNSC by every criterion.