African blow for Security Council hopefuls
By Mark Turner at the United Nations and agencies

Published: August 4 2005 20:39 | Last updated: August 4 2005 23:47

Germany, Japan, Brazil and India were dealt a decisive blow in their bid to win new permanent seats on the UN Security Council on Thursday after African leaders rejected their invitation to join forces on a vote before September’s world summit.
An African Union meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, stuck with its demand that any new permanent seats also have veto rights, a position the “G4” group had abandoned for lack of support.
The G4 wanted a vote in the UN General Assembly next week but their foreign ministers acknowledged they would not win the necessary two-thirds majority without African backing.
G4 ambassadors were meeting on Thursday in New York to decide on the next steps they should take. Diplomats suggested the impasse could open the way for a compromise proposal by Jean Ping, the General Assembly president, which would also take into account countries that want no new permanent seats.
That could entail the creation of a semi-permanent category, with a longer tenure than non-permanent members but which would need to be re-elected.
“If there is a move now, there is a good chance for Mr Ping to succeed,” said Abdallah Baali, Algeria’s UN ambassador. But, “the more we wait, the less likely he will”.
Meanwhile, the US sought to play down Chinese claims that both countries had forged a common front against the G4 bid. Wang Guangya, China’s ambassador to the UN, said on Wednesday he had struck a deal with John Bolton, the new US representative, against the campaign.
“We agreed to work together to make sure that our interests are being maintained; which means that we have to work in parallel ways to see that the unity of the UN members, the unity of every regional group, will not be spoiled because of this manoeuvre and process,” he said.
Richard Grenell, spokesman for the US mission, said both countries opposed a vote on expansion now, but insisted their positions differed.
The US has endorsed Japan’s candidacy, for example, but says it wants to see other UN reforms first.
Kenzo Oshima, Japan’s ambassador, said: “We have been aware all along of the position taken respectively by China and the US. But as I understand it, there is no alliance.”
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