WASHINGTON, May 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States has warned Japan, India, Germany and Brazil, the four nations seeking permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council, that it will not support their cause unless they agree not to ask for veto power, the New York Times said in a report on Sunday.

    Officials in the administration of President George W. Bush fear that giving the new members veto power might paralyze the Security Council, the report said.

    The four nations are unhappy with the US position. "The Security Council is not like an aircraft, with first class, business and economy seats," Ryozo Kato, Japan's ambassador to the United States, was quoted by the report as saying.

    The United Nations Security Council currently has five permanent Security Council members -- the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia, and each has the veto power in council decisions. This has been the format since the creation of the United Nations in September 1945. Enditem