Russia said today India should become a veto-wielding permanent member of the United Nations Security Council if the UN's top decision-making body is enlarged to reflect post-Cold War realities.
President Vladimir Putin gave the assurance after Indian newspapers interpreted comments he made on Friday as saying India should not be given veto powers.
Mr Putin said permanent members of the UN's top body should either all have a veto, or none of them should have it. "I am convinced that permanent seats on the Security Council should have veto power, otherwise it would be a one-sided reform of the UN," Mr Putin told reporters on a visit to India.
"If we agree that future permanent members of the Security Council should have no veto, the next step would not be giving these countries veto power but rather abolishing the veto."
But the Kremlin chief warned that scrapping the veto - often used by the Soviet Union during the Cold War - risked weakening the Council's effectiveness.