Four of the five permanent members including the US, UK, France, and Russia sided India’s stand on resolving Kashmir bilaterally

The UN Security Council said on Wednesday that Kashmir is an issue for India and Pakistan to resolve bilaterally. The statement came after Pakistan tried raising Kashmir at the body. Four of the five permanent members including the US, UK, France, and Russia sided firmly with India, said a report by Hindustan Times.

“In today’s meeting of UN Security Council which was closed, informal, not recorded and without any outcome, almost all countries underlined that J&K was the bilateral issue & did not deserve time and attention of Council,” the report quoted India’s permanent representative to the UN TS Tirumurti’s tweet.

It was the third time since last August that Pakistan had sought a discussion on Kashmir in a letter to the council. China supported its “all-weather friend” and called for a discussion under Any Other Business practice, said the report quoting some diplomats.

Indonesia initially backed Pakistan and China on their stand on Kashmir but in the end, it came through for India as it agreed with others that the dispute needed to be resolved bilaterally, said the Hindustan Times report quoting UN diplomats.

In a letter to the UNSC sent in April, Pakistan had tried to create an impression that under the new domicile rules released in March, people from all over the country will descend upon Kashmir and change the demographics of the region. India went on to brief the members of the council on the rules, the different categories of who can and not settle there said the report.

India was elected to the UNSC in June as a non-permanent member.