Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US President Joe Biden's pick for ambassador to UN, on Wednesday said that India's bid to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) is a matter of ongoing discussion.
Linda's statement puts the clouds of confusion about the US stand over India's bid for permanent membership in the UNSC. This is in contrst to the stand taken by the US under regimes of George W Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump who had extended full support to India for permanent membership of the UN body.
She made the remarks while undergoing her confirmation hearing before the senate foreign relations committee. She said that this is a matter of ongoing discussion. The lawmaker has spent more than 35 years in foreign service and has recently been nominated for the position at the UN.
During her confirmation hearing, a question was asked by Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon, "Do you think India, Germany, Japan, should be a permanent member of the UN Security Council?"
In her reply, she said, "I think there has been some discussion about them being members of the security council and there are some strong arguments for that."
"But I also know that there are others who disagree within their regions that they should be the representative of their region. That, too, is an ongoing discussion," Linda added.
Countries that oppose the bid of India, Japan, Germany, and Brazil include Pakistan, Mexico, and Egypt.
