The G4 foreign ministers -- Germany's Joschka Fischer (L1), Japan's Nobutaka Machimura (L2), India's Natwar Singh (R2) and Brazil's Celso Amorim (R1) shake hands with the president of the UN General Assembly, Jean Ping, at the UN headquarters in New York, July 17, 2005. (Xinhua photo)

The president of the UN General Assembly, Jean Ping (C), has a meeting with the foreign ministers of Germany, India, Brazil and Japan (left side of the picture) at the UN headquarters in New York, July 17, 2005.  (Xinhua photo)

    UNITED NATIONS, July 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Germany, Japan, Brazil and India on Sunday failed to reach a compromise with the 53-nation African Union (AU)on the expansion of the UN Security Council, but the two sides agreed to hold further negotiations next week.

    "There is nothing for the time being, obviously," Algerian Ambassador to the United Nations Abdallah Baali told reporters after the lengthy meeting in New York. "We're just starting a process."

    He said the AU and the four countries, known as the Group of Four, had agreed to set up a joint working group and continue negotiations at the level of ambassadors in New York.

    Brazilian Ambassador Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg admitted that no progress had been achieved during the ministerial meeting, but he emphasized that this was the first time that the AU and the G-4 had a consultation.

    He said the foreign ministers of the G-4 will hold another round of talks with their AU counterparts next Friday, or July 25,in Geneva and then the G-4 will make a decision on how to proceed with their campaign for the council expansion.

    The AU sent the foreign ministers of Nigeria, South Africa, Libya and Ghana, the vice foreign minister of Egypt, and the ambassadors of Angola, Algeria and Mauritius for Sunday's meeting.

    The AU and the G-4, which are aspiring for permanent seats on an expanded council, have submitted competing proposals to the General Assembly for the enlargement of the 15-nation Security Council.

    "It's not possible for any group to get two-thirds by itself. So we have to find a way for our differences not only to narrow, but to disappear," Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh said.

    Indian Ambassador Nirupan Sen said the foreign ministers of the AU and G-4 will discuss the result of the ambassadorial talks in Geneva.

    He told reporters last week that the G-4 would seek a vote on its draft resolution on the Security Council expansion in the lastweek of this month.

    Under the draft, the seats of the council would be expanded to 25 from the current 15 by adding six new permanent seats and four nonpermanent ones. The draft also proposes a 15-year freeze on theveto power for new permanent members.

    But the AU proposes increasing six new permanent members, all with the veto power, and five non-permanent members, two from Africa, on the council.

    Currently, the council is composed of five permanent veto-wielding members -- France, China, Britain, the United Statesand Russia -- and 10 elected members with two-year terms.

    The G-4 plan has been strongly opposed by a group of countries called "Uniting for Consensus (UFC)," which include Pakistan, Italy, Mexico, Canada and Argentina.

    The UFC, which objects to the expansion of the permanent membership, has circulated a draft resolution recommending an increase of 10 non-permanent members on the council. The draft hasnot yet been submitted.

    A council reform plan needs the backing of at least two-thirds of the 191 UN member countries, or 128 votes, to be approved by the General Assembly. Enditem