UNITED NATIONS, March 2 (Xinhuanet) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Thursday that he is chagrined about the U.S. position on the Human Rights Council, and called on all member states to reach agreement on the council.

    Annan told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that he was"chagrined" by reports that the United States opposed the proposed resolution to set up the council, but emphasized that this was not an issue about isolating the United States from the rest of the world.

    "If we are not careful and we make the wrong moves that unravel the council, then we are in a situation where we have a commission that we all claim is discredited, and the council that should replace it is being unraveled," he observed.

    He thus called for an agreement as soon as possible, saying "I would urge the member states to think about this as they move forward with their decision."

    "The bad must always give in to the good, but the better must not be the enemy of the good," he said. "That is the advice I would want them to bear in mind as they attempt to settle this issue."

    Annan said he would be in further contact with U.S. officials over the issue of the council because without the United States, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights would be impossible.

    "I don't think we should see it as isolating the United States, or the United States versus the others," he said. "We are in this together. This is an issue of great importance to all of us."

    Annan's comments were his latest call to member states to reach agreement on the council as soon as possible, the blueprint for which was unveiled by UN General Assembly President Jan Eliasson last week.

    Meanwhile, according to the spokeswoman of the General Assembly President, the European Union has formally declared on Wednesday evening that it backed the proposed council.

    Eliasson has said Tuesday that the current text of the draft resolution has won wide support of the most member states. Enditem