Russia [Images] and China on Wednesday acknowledged India's growing status in international affairs, but stopped short of explicitly backing New Delhi's claim to a permanent seat in the revamped UN Security Council.

"The Foreign Ministers of China and Russia reiterated that their countries attach importance to the status of India in international affairs and understand and support India's aspirations to play a greater role in the United Nations," a joint communique issued at the end of the third stand-alone meeting of the Foreign Ministers of India, China and Russia, said.

India is seeking a full-fledged permanent membership in the revamped United Nations Security Council. While many countries have expressed support for India's bid, Beijing [Images] is yet to fully back New Delhi.

Meanwhile, at the trilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Harbin on Wednesday, they underlined that UN was the most representative and authoritative international organisation.

"In order to deal with various problems and challenges facing the international community more effectively, it is important to strengthen the role of the United Nations, improve its efficiency and conduct a comprehensive reform of the United Nations," the communique adopted by the three ministers said.