BERLIN, Aug. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Friday that Germany has not given up its hopes for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

    To a meeting of senior members of his Social Democrat Party in the eastern city of Kassel, Schroeder said that the rejection of some Security Council permanent members against the call by the Group of Four (G4) nations for permanent seats "was to be regretted." Their objections were "unjustified," he claimed.

    The G4, referring to Germany, Brazil, India and Japan, has proposed expanding the Security Council from 15 to 25 seats, with six new members as permanent ones.

    Germany was entitled to a seat because it was the third largest contributor of funding to the world body and was "unhesitatingly" providing forces for UN peace missions, he said.

    After a contentious debate Thursday at an emergency African Union summit on UN reform, 46 of the pan-African body's 53 members reaffirmed a joint position on the continent's Security Council representation adopted in July in Libya. The refusal by African leaders to drop demands for two permanent veto-wielding seats on an enlarged UN Security Council is a major setback for council aspirants Brazil, Germany, India and Japan.

    The 53 African votes are vital for UN reforms as an enlargement resolution requires a two-thirds majority in the 191-member General Assembly for adoption and no veto from permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

    The German campaign for greater influence in the Security Council has also met setback at home recently as conservative opposition alliance said that they do not see it as a priority.

    Schroeder also lashed out at the Christian Democrat Alliance CDU/CSU and the Free Democrat Party (FDP) for not supporting him inthe campaign. He said their attitude indicated that they were "incapable of advancing Germany's national interests." Enditem