US for UNSC seat to 'developing country'

NDTV: "US officials have said they will back Japan and one "developing world" country for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. They further said that the Bush administration will propose specific criteria for candidate countries next week.

This has sparked off speculation that the developing country US has in mind may be India, even though US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns told reporters that Japan was the only country it had endorsed. But he said the US opposes giving veto powers to the newcomers, saying the privilege should be reserved for the current five permanent members - China, the United States, France, Britain and Russia.

Burns will be in India next week when things are expected to get much, much clearer. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has also added that the US was prepared to discuss the expansion of the Security Council."