Sikorski supports India UN Security Council bid

Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski with Indian Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna prior to a meeting in New Delhi on 12.07.2011. Photo: PAP/EPA

Talking to reporters after talks in New Delhi with India’s Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna, his Polish opposite number Radoslaw Sikorski added, however, that in Warsaw’s view these aspirations should be seen in the context of a reform of the Security Council.

Within its framework, Mr Sikorski said, the European Union, as a future superpower, should also be made the Council’s permanent membership.

Polish-Indian talks also covered the situation in Afghanistan, including the peace talks conducted between the Kabul authorities and the Taliban.

“We agreed,” Poland’s Foreign Minister said, “that it is the Afghans themselves who have to decided how far they want to go in the reconciliation process with some segments of the armed opposition, as they will have to live with the consequences of these decisions.”

Mr Sikorski also announced that Poland would support the idea of setting up a Polish-Indian cultural centre in Warsaw.

Meanwhile, the talks come as Hamid Karzai’s brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai is reported to have been shot dead by Taliban rebels at his home in Kandahar, although some sources point to the attack being led by one of his own bodyguards.

Ahmed Wali Karzai was the chief of the Kandahar provincial council, and known as an influential personality in southern Afghanistan. This was the third attempt on his life since 2008. (mk/jb)

Source: IAR/PAP

Audio by Monika Greszta