Finland today supported Indian candidacy for permanent membership of the expanded UN Security Council, saying a superpower like India should be represented in the powerful council of the world body.
"It is natural that a superpower like India should be represented in the UN Security Council," Finnish President Sauli Niinisto told a group of visiting Indian journalists in an interview at his residence on the outskirts of Helsinki.
Finland was earlier hesitant to back India's permanent membership and this could be perhaps the first articulation publicly at the top level by a Finnish leader.
"I have also said a couple of weeks ago at the UN General Assembly in New York that we don't like the veto," he said.
"I understand that it is impossible to change the existing rules. If new members are taken, it should be discussed. If every country has veto power, we have seen that it makes Security Council's work quite difficult," he added.
At the UN, Niinisto had said that "we need to reform the UN Security Council. Finland supports the efforts to restrict the use of veto."
Asked about Finland's stand on India's membership in Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and other groups, the president said: "We do support your (Indian) membership in the NSG. Also we encourage India to conform to even more robustly to non-proliferation regimes."
He also confirmed that India's Atomic Energy Agency would sign an agreement with Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority tomorrow during President Pranab Mukherjee's visit.
"I see no obstacle in cooperation with India" on this front, the president added.
