Czech Republic pulled out of vote for place on UN Security Council

The Czech Republic withdrew its candidature for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council after failing to secure sufficient backing in a vote on Tuesday. The Czech Republic had been in direct competition with Croatia for a two-year stint on the Security Council due to begin in 2009. In a first round of voting in New York, the Czech Republic received 91 out of 186 votes, while Croatia got 95 - both falling short of the necessary two-thirds majority. When the result of the second round was also unfavourable the Czech Republic pulled out. At a debate at the Czech Parliament on Wednesday, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg assumed responsibility for the failure.