WASHINGTON, May 18 (UPI) -- A German official Wednesday said reports that Condoleezza Rice was against Germany becoming a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council were not serious.
Volker Ruehe, a senior politician who is Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's special envoy for U.N. reform, was commenting on a report in Wednesday's Washington Post that the Secretary of State had said "there was very poor rationale for giving another member of the European Union a permanent seat" in the Security Council.
"I was told, don't take it seriously," Ruehe told United Press International. "There is as yet no U.S. position. President Bush has said the United states supports Japan, but I don't think anybody can seriously believe that only Japan will get in (to the Security Council)."
Earlier this week Germany, Japan, Brazil, and India submitted a proposal to the U.N. General Assembly to increase the permanent members of the Security Council from five to 11, plus four non-permanent seats. The two additional seats would come from the African continent.
