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Syria says ready to cooperate with new UN envoy
DAMASCUS, Nov 4, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Syria is ready to cooperate with new UN
envoy Geir Pedersen as long as he avoids the methods of his predecessor, its
deputy foreign minister said in remarks published Sunday.
Pedersen, who assumes the role at the end of November, is the fourth
negotiator to have been appointed the UN’s special envoy to Syria since the
country’s war broke out in 2011.
A seasoned Norwegian diplomat, he replaces Staffan de Mistura, who
announced he is leaving the post last month after a four-year stint.
“Syria will cooperate with the new UN envoy Geir Pedersen provided he
avoids the methods of his predecessor,” Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-
Meqdad said, quoted by Al-Watan newspaper.
It would work with him if “he announces his support for the unity of
Syria’s land and people and does not side with the terrorists as his
predecessor did,” he added, referring to rebel groups.
The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has long accused de Mistura
of bias during his tenure.
Its opponents have said the change in UN envoy would have little impact on
the fate of the country as international will and consensus were lacking.
Yahya al-Aridi, spokesman for the Syrian Negotiations Commission, this week
told AFP he hoped Pedersen would be “more decisive” and call things out for
what they are.
De Mistura, an Italian-Swedish diplomat, announced he was stepping down to
spend more time with his family after four years in the demanding post.
He had been appointed in July 2014 after veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar
Brahimi resigned following two years in the position.
Brahimi stepped in after late UN chief Kofi Annan quit just six months into
the role which he described as “mission impossible”.
Pedersen was a member of the Norwegian team to the secret negotiations
that led to the signing of the 1993 Oslo accords between Israel and the
Palestinians.
BSS/AFP/RY/1705 hrs