German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi are in agreement over the right of a veto to new members of an expanded U.N. Security Council, they announced Thursday as a joint press conference in Tokyo. Following their meeting the two leaders of the world's second- and third-biggest economies also said that any new permanent members to the security council would have to receive the same authority as the present five countries. There can be "no differences", said Koizumi at the press conference. Earlier at an economic conference in Tokyo, Schroeder said that any "can't be done with a double standard". In his view, any new permanent members should have the "right of veto" just like the current members. The current Security Council members are China, France, Great Britain, Russia and the United States. Neither of the two proposals for an expansion of the Security Council, which have recently been presented to the U.N. in New York, includes a right of veto. Schroeder's comments counter Berlin's assurances that Germany would not insist on a right of veto. Germany has an agreement with Japan, Brazil and India to mutually support one another in their attempts to gain a seat on the new council. The German Chancellor arrived in Japan on Wednesday for official talks in Tokyo following a three-day visit of China.
