US support to India over its bid for a permanent UN security council seat may count as a very lightweight factor, warned Strobe Talbott, the former US deputy secretary of state here on Tuesday.

Talbott added that US president Barack Obama's encouraging words on the issue may not amount to much when it comes to actual nomination as it needs other P5 nations  - Russia, Britain, France and China, all of whom ghave veto powers - to support it.

“The complex issue needs support of all the P5 countries, and if one opposes it, then the president's word will not be enough for expansion,” Talbott commented.

Recently, Ashley Tellis, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC based foreign policy think-tank, had stated,  “The White House should endorse India’s quest for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.”

Washington has not yet publicly offered India support on its bid, while there have been encouraging feelers from France, Britain and Russia in the past.  

The former deputy secretary of state in the Clinton administration said that Washington is cooperating with New Delhi on regional issues and on the G20 countries.

He, however, said that there is growing partisanship on crucial issues in the United States but that is not going to affect Obama's trip to India and its policy towards New Delhi. “Partisanship is not going to affect foreign policy of the United States towards New Delhi,” he commented.

Talbott also expressed confidence on the Obama administration taking the Indo-US relationship to the next level.

“Both nations can and must work together to mitigate the effects of climate change which poses an existential threat to the future of mankind. They must engage with the European countries and China to combat the fall-out of climate change”, he added.

“We are now building on and upgrading our efforts on counter-terrorism,” he said at the function organised by FICCI.

The National Security Advisor, Shiv Shankar Menon who was also present at the event said that access given by the US to David Headley, the Pakistani-American terrorist and key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks was “unprecedented”, saying such cooperation may not have been possible five years back.

His comment came after home secretary G K Pillai expressed disappointment to the press last week over the Washington not sharing specific information on Headley.

Menon also added that people feel disappointed because they expect “much more out of this growing relationship.”

“Indo-US relations have changed in a fundamental way in the last decade. We have more than just a transactional relationship with the US. The two nations have an open, democratic and inclusive architecture, we have learnt overtime that mercantilism and protectionism do not serve us well and it is time to be ambitious about the relationship”. He was referring to the outsourcing controversy in the recent months.

Menon, however, sought to clear doubts that increased cooperation with the US is at the cost of China. “There were sensitivities on both sides and just as all major powers were talking to each other, there is a need to engage with China. I therefore do not see our relations with the US affecting our relations with China.”

“We want to transform India, and if anything comes in the way, we will try and avoid that,” Menon said.