India, Sept. 27 -- Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov backed India's candidature for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) during his address to the UN General Assembly.

Lavrov said Russia supports a broader representation of Asia, Africa and Latin America in the Council, specifically endorsing the bids of India and Brazil.

"We are in favour of broadening the representation of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We support Brazil's and India's candidatures for a permanent seat," Lavrov said.

Lavrov stressed that any reform of the Security Council should preserve the prerogatives of its permanent members and should not result in additional seats for Western nations.

"UN Security Council reform cannot involve a...