Erdogan backs India's bid for UNSC permanent seat

NEW DELHI: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday supported India's bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, even as he called for major reforms in the exclusive body.

Referring to the ongoing fight against the ISIS, the crisis in Syria and countries like the US, Russia and Iran supporting different groups in the region, Erdogan said using one terrorist organisation against another can be counter- productive.

Noting that there are "differences" as well as "commonalities" between the two countries, India and Turkey must "quash" prejudices against each other, he said.

He also said that India-turkey relations are "significantly behind" their potential and for a fair world both countries have to work together.

"India, with a population of 1.3 billion is not a part of the UNSC. Over 1.7 billion people live in the Islamic world but they too are not a part of the UNSC. A nation like Japan is not a part of the group. This is not a healthy sign. We need a fair and just world order by bringing in significant reforms in the UNSC," Erdogan said here.

The Turkish leader said one cannot expect the UN Security Council to dispense justice without more representation.

The membership of the body should be on a rotational basis with 20 to 30 countries holding the mantle at a time so that all nations get a chance to be a member of the key world body, he said.

"Only five permanent members (the US, Russia, France, China and the UK) have veto power in the UNSC. The nonpermanent members' vote does not count. (Then) why do they deceive (the world)? The UNSC cannot dispense justice," the Turkish President said.

Erdogan, who is on a twoday visit to India, was speaking in Turkish at the Jamia Millia Islamia university where he was awarded a Doctor of Letters degree.