UNITED NATIONS, Nov 9: Saudi Arabia has not told the United Nations Secretariat formally that it will abandon non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council which it won last month in the UN General Assembly reports here say Jordan is ready to occupy the seat.

When asked on Friday whether Saudi Arabia has notified the UN formally of its decision to forgo the seat to protest UNSC’s failure to take action against Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria, a UN spokesman said so far no such notification had been received from Riyadh.

Most UN diplomats here believe a formal letter needs to be received from Riyadh before a new election can be held.

Western diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it appeared Jordan had agreed to replace Saudi Arabia on the council, after dropping out of a race against Riyadh for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council.

Jordan’s place on the Security Council would still need two-thirds approval by the General Assembly, diplomats said.

The unprecedented move by Saudi Arabia to reject the Security Council seat and the emergence of Jordan as the alternative candidate has left diplomats bewildered.

Several UN diplomats have said Jordan would have been wary of replacing Saudi Arabia on the Security Council, as it is so closely involved in key issues before the body.

Jordan neighbours Syria and refugees from the more than two years of civil war now represent one-tenth of Jordan’s population.

“I don’t think Jordan, to be honest, wants to be on the Security Council,” said one diplomat speaking on the background.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s UN Ambassador, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al Hussein, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Jordanian mission to the United Nations said that Zeid had returned to Amman for a few weeks.

Jordan dropped out of the race for a seat on the Human Rights Council earlier this week, paving the way for Saudi Arabia to be elected to that body unopposed, in spite of widespread criticism of its rights record.

The Security Council is dominated by its five permanent members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — which have veto power over its decisions.