Egypt has accused Nigeria of abandoning African interests to increase its own chances of obtaining a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Nigeria was willing to back down on the African demand that its two permanent seats in the Security Council should have veto power, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said. It would also accept a total of four rather than five non-permanent seats for Africa in the council, he said, adding that the intention was to boost its own chances of gaining a permanent seat. Nigeria's actions came during a meeting in London, which it chaired, to hammer out a common African position. The oil-producing state "tried to subjugate the African position to narrow interests in a way which does not reflect the required transparency in dealings between African states," Gheit said. "It would abandon the fifth seat to another continent while working for its direct interest, imagining that it would thus have a better chance of obtaining a permanent seat," the minister added. Nigeria and Egypt, along with South Africa, are the main contenders for the two permanent African seats.