UNITED NATIONS, Nov 7: The UN General Assembly elected Panama to the Security Council on Tuesday in a compromise move that ended a protracted fight between Venezuela and US-backed Guatemala for the seat.

Venezuela, whose President Hugo Chavez is a foe of the current US government, and Guatemala went through 48 rounds of voting over four weeks trying to secure the non-permanent council seat earmarked for the region.

Panama will replace Argentina on the council from Jan 1.

Both the United States and Venezuela called the compromise a win.

“For the big countries, it should be clear that the General Assembly will not accept their impositions,” said the Venezuelan ambassador, Francisco Javier Arias Cardenas.

US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said: “We are looking forward to working with Panama; I'm sure they'll play a constructive role. Guatemala would have played a constructive role too.” —Reuters