Increasing the number of permanent seats in the U.N. Security Council by just two was not enough, a German government spokesman said in Berlin Friday, a day after Washington announced its policy on reform. Deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg said Berlin was sticking to the "G4" proposal it has made jointly with Brazil, India and Japan for all four to obtain new seats. It was important that developing countries gained more representation, he added, according to DPA. U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Thursday that Washington proposed Japan and one other nation receive permanent seats. Steg said this was insufficient to cure the current "disproportion" in the United Nations' top institution. Germany favours a plan that would enlarge the council to 25 seats including six new permanent ones and four rotating seats. The G4 nations seek four of the six new permanent seats for themselves. The spokesman added that international support in the U.N. General Assembly for the G4 proposals had been growing. The assembly requires a two-thirds majority to change the U.N. ground rules. Steg added that Washington's response had been a "constructive" contribution to the debate and could be seen as support for the necessity of expanding the Security Council.
