Panama has gained the support of Guatemala and Venezuela as a candidate for a non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council, Ecuador's UN Ambassador Diego Cordovez announced Wednesday night. 

They agreed to give up their own bid for the seat and supported Panama as a compromise candidate for the 35-member Latin American and Caribbean group, said Cordovez. The Ambassador hosted two rounds of talks between Guatemalan Foreign Minister Gert Rosenthal and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro.

Cordovez said the two ministers would present the choice to a meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean group on Thursday for approval. The UN General Assembly then require to vote. 

Guatemala and Venezuela were vying for the Latin American seat that Argentina will vacate on December 31. Guatemala, backed by the United States, led Venezuela by about 25 votes in all but one of the 47 rounds of balloting that started on October 16. But Guatemala fell short of the required two-thirds majority to secure the seat.

Earlier on Wednesday the Assembly decided to suspend a new round of voting scheduled for the afternoon of that day and postponed the balloting to next Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency November 2, 2006)