US explains to Big 5 support for India

Washington unable to set date for UN reforms

“We’ve talked to all of our partners in the Security Council, and I’m sure we’ll be doing follow-up discussions,” State Department spokesman P J Crowley told reporters on Monday.

“We have reached out and explained the announcement that the president has made today.”

“We have talked to China about Security Council reform. I just can’t say whether we’ve reached out to China at this point,” he said when asked if the US had also talked to China, which is now the only permanent member not to have endorsed India.

But “we are not able to dictate the terms of reform”, Crowley said when asked if Obama had set a target date for UN reforms as he usually does.

“This is the Security Council. There are five permanent members, and so this will be a requirement for us to continue to consult within the UN and within the Security Council on an appropriate way forward.”

Obama “did highlight the fact that, as we continue to promote reform within the UN Security Council, it is inconceivable that you could contemplate UN Security Council reform without considering a country like India”, Crowley said.

Onus on Pakistan

Asked what steps the US was taking to ensure that Pakistan brings perpetrators of 26/11 to justice as stated by Obama, Crowley said: “We cooperate with Pakistan and India on counterterrorism cooperation. But ultimately, the solution here, first and foremost, rests within Pakistan.”

From the State Department’s perspective “the visit has achieved everything that we’d hoped for”, he said.  “As the president reinforced today (Monday), his was the third consecutive administration of Democrats and Republicans to visit India. “It demonstrates the importance of our relationship and the importance of India’s emerging role in the world. And as President Obama made clear, he will not be the last president to visit India.”