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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Panama agreement ends UN seat row | Panama agreement ends UN seat row |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Venezuela and Guatemala have withdrawn their rival bids for a UN Security Council seat from Latin America, diplomats have said. | Venezuela and Guatemala have withdrawn their rival bids for a UN Security Council seat from Latin America, diplomats have said. |
| They say the move opens the way for Panama to take the non-permanent seat. | They say the move opens the way for Panama to take the non-permanent seat. |
| Nearly 50 rounds of voting failed to resolve the contest between Guatemala and Venezuela. | Nearly 50 rounds of voting failed to resolve the contest between Guatemala and Venezuela. |
| The United States had opposed Venezuela's candidacy because of its deteriorating relationship with President Hugo Chavez. | The United States had opposed Venezuela's candidacy because of its deteriorating relationship with President Hugo Chavez. |
| The announcement about the deal was made after talks between the foreign ministers of Guatemala and Venezuela. | |
| "The two foreign ministers have agreed on two issues," said Ecuador's UN ambassador Diego Cordovez, who was a mediator during the talks. | |
| "Both will withdraw their candidacy to the Security Council, and second, Panama will be the country that the three of us will present to the [Latin American] group" to represent the region, Mr Cordovez said. | |
| Marathon voting | |
| The UN General Assembly held 47 rounds to choose between Guatemala and Venezuela. | |
| Guatemala gathered more support in nearly all the rounds, but neither side was able to achieve the two-thirds majority needed in the 192-member General Assembly. | |
| UN rules allow for voting to continue indefinitely until agreement is reached. | |
| A 1979 battle between Cuba and Colombia took three months of voting to resolve, with Mexico eventually emerging as the compromise candidate. | |
| Five of the 15 UN Security Council seats are held permanently by China, the US, Russia, the UK and France. | |
| The others are held by regional blocs from Africa, Latin America, Asia, Western Europe and Eastern Europe. | |
| Other regional seats, which are rotated every two years, went to Indonesia, South Africa, Italy and Belgium in the first round of voting last month. |