Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The German government will step up its campaign to obtain a permanent United Nations Security Council seat at meetings next week in New York, said Karsten Voigt, who helps coordinate U.S. relations for Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Voigt said Schroeder's push to gain the seat, to be argued during next week's meeting of the UN General Assembly, has the support of most European countries, including the U.K. and France. Germany, India and Brazil are backing each other's campaigns to win permanent membership of the council, he said.

Germany, Brazil, India and Japan argue that economic power and regional influence entitle them to permanent Security Council status. The five permanent members -- the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia and China -- with veto power over resolutions have remained unchanged since the UN was set up at the end of World War II.

As Europe's largest economy, the Germans ``have a clear-cut case'' for gaining a permanent seat, said Voigt, 63, in an interview in Berlin. ``The UN has to reflect the increasing importance of Germany as well as countries in Asia, Africa and South America. We want more responsibility.''

Schroeder and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer are pushing Germany's case for a revamp of the council ahead of publication in December of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's recommendations for changes to the world body, including greater cooperation in areas such as combating terrorism.

`Realistic'

Germany will review Annan's package of proposals and ``see what's acceptable, see what needs further work,'' said Voigt, ``Optimism is one thing -- you have to be realistic.''

Voigt declined to comment on a report in this week's edition of the German newspaper Die Zeit newspaper that the government has agreed with Japan, India and Brazil to make a joint announcement in New York of their claims to permanent Security Council seats.

Die Zeit said Fischer, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will make the announcement Tuesday.

German Foreign Ministry spokesman Walter Lindner told a regular government news conference today that Fischer will attend a meeting on changes to the UN at Koizumi's invitation next week. He did not give further details.

Voigt said Germany wants to revive U.S. interest in it joining the security panel, said Voigt, a former lawmaker from Schroeder's Social Democratic Party, whom the chancellor appointed as U.S. coordinator in 1999.

``After all, we had the support of Bush senior,'' said Voigt, referring to George H.W. Bush, who was U.S. president from 1989 to 1993.

Iraq War

German-U.S. relations worsened in 2002, when Schroeder made opposition to U.S.-led military intervention in Iraq a central theme of his re-election campaign.

The invasion of Iraq in March 2003 began without the support of the UN, with three of the permanent members -- Russia, France and China -- opposed to the war, along with Germany, which is serving a two-year term as one of the council's ten elected members.

Voigt said Germany, while preparing to contribute to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's new plan to train Iraqi security forces following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime, would not send any troops to the country.

``We'll train policemen and soldiers out of Iraq,'' said Voigt. Under NATO's plan to assist in Iraq's reconstruction, agreed in Brussels two months ago, countries such as Germany will relieve the U.S. by training Iraqi security and ancillary workers in stages.

Germany's preparations for handing over 100 trucks to the Iraqi forces and training the truck drivers in the United Arab Emirates have almost been completed, said Rainer Kuempel, a spokesman for the German Defense Ministry, in an interview today.

German armed forces are also preparing to train Iraqi pioneers for tasks including the clearing of mines and defusing bombs, Kuempel said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Parkin in Berlin at bparkin@bloomberg.net and Thomas Bauer in Berlin at tbauer@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 17, 2004 07:33 EDT