Italy seeks support on U.N. Security Council reform

By Silvia Aloisi

ROME (Reuters) - Italy hosted talks on Wednesday with delegations from nearly 80 countries on the much disputed issue of expanding the U.N. Security Council, seeking support for its view that no new permanent members should be added.

Italy, which like other medium and small countries fears being left out of an enlarged council, says the widest possible consensus is needed over the reform of the Security Council before formal negotiations start on Feb. 19.

But the list of those not invited to Rome -- notably Germany, Japan, Brazil and India, all contenders for new permanent seats -- reflects the deep divisions on the issue.

Of the five permanent, veto-holding members, only Russia and China were at the meeting. The United States was allowed in as an observer but France and Britain were not invited.

"The time where an elite decides on its own is over," Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said after the meeting, urging greater representation for small and medium-sized countries, or even continents like Africa.

"An approach where the Security Council would become an even more exclusive club, at the expense of all the other U.N. members, would not serve the long-term interests of the United Nations," he said.

In New York, Japan's U.N. Ambassador Yukio Takasu said the Rome meeting was "a reaction to the heightened momentum of reform of the Security Council." He hoped it would "be conducive to the real seriousness" of discussions in New York.