Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have expressed dissatisfaction at the way the issue of the UN Security Council expansion has overshadowed other issues connected to the comprehensive reform of the UN.

In a statement issued Tuesday on the sideline of the 38th ASEAN ministerial meeting here, the ministers said they had discussed the reform of the UN. "They were concerned that individual member countries of the UN were being made to choose between one side or the other," the statement said.

"ASEAN foreign ministers urge the major protagonists to adopt a less divisive approach, mindful of the important role the UN plays in helping us overcome the many challenges which confront us collectively," the statement said, adding they feel that the UN reform is too important a task for us to settle in a hurry.

The foreign ministers are gathering in Vientiane, Laos, in their annual meeting to discuss international issues and challenges facing the regional group which comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

Source: Xinhua