Latin American ministers seek breakthrough at UN

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 26 (Reuters) Foreign ministers from Guatemala and Venezuela seek to break the deadlock today in their countries' battle for a seat on the UN Security Council but initial soundings show no sign of a compromise.

The goal is to find an alternate candidate that could fill an open Latin American seat on the council, the most powerful UN body, following 41 rounds of inconclusive voting and sharp divisions among the 35 Latin American and Caribbean nations.

For Venezuela, the race is one against what it calls US dominance over developing nations. Washington has lobbied for Guatemala, a country that has never had a seat on the council.

In an attempt to break the impasse, Foreign Ministers Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and Gert Rosenthal of Guatemala confer today.

Both have said they would withdraw providing they could agree on an acceptable substitute.

''The pressure is on them now. They cannot possibly leave New York empty-handed,'' said Mexico's UN ambassador, Enrique Berruga, whose country supports Guatemala.

Voting was conducted three days last week and on Wednesday when Guatemala received between 100 and 109 votes, compared with Venezuela's range of 72 to 84 votes.

But Guatemala was not able to get the required two-thirds majority in the 192-member General Assembly. Balloting will resume next Tuesday.

''They accept in principal that they will withdraw their candidacies. But they are not set on a third country,'' Brazilian Ambassador Ronaldo Moto Sardenberg told reporters.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his ally Bolivia would be a good compromise, which he called a ''brother nation.'' ''We will not go to the meeting with a knife in our hands,'' said Venezuelan UN Ambassador Francisco Arias Cardenas. ''We are looking for a favorable agreement, a dignified one. We want to send a lesson to those countries who try to impose their will on others that this is not the way to go.'' Guatemala's Rosenthal has made clear Bolivia was unacceptable.

Other nations mentioned included Uruguay, Paraguay, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

The United States, Russia, Britain, France and China hold permanent seats on the Security Council. Ten other nations sit on the council for two-year terms, five elected each year.

Guatemala and Venezuela are vying for the Latin American seat that Argentina will vacate on December 31. Peru stays on the council until the end of 2007.

Chilean UN Ambassador Heraldo Munoz said after a meeting on Wednesday of the 35 nations the question of a third candidate should be left to Guatemala and Venezuela.

''Any consensus of the Latin American-Caribbean group is based on the agreement between the two candidates, and that is why the meeting of the candidates' foreign ministers is so important,'' Munoz said.

Chavez has portrayed the contest as a competition with the United States because of US support for Guatemala, and has boasted of a moral victory in blocking Washington's choice.

Although Venezuela is a major oil supplier to the United States, ties have deteriorated, particularly since Chavez described Washington as his No. 1 enemy and called President George W Bush ''the devil'' in a General Assembly speech in September. Diplomats said that cost Caracas votes.

Reuters LL GC1129