NEW YORK: Lakhdar Brahimi wants to resign as the joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria because his efforts to find a political solution to the escalating conflict have failed, UN diplomats have said.
Brahimi has found that speaking for two organizations with different views on Syria has made his role of trying to mediate a political transition almost impossible, two diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because their discussions with Brahimi were private.
While UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been calling for talks and urging all countries to stop arming the Syrian government and rebels, the Arab League is supporting the Syrian opposition, which Brahimi finds especially troubling, the diplomats said.
Brahimi is also fed up with the divisions in the UN Security Council that have prevented any action on Syria, the diplomats said.
Rumors have circulated for weeks that Brahimi was going to resign. The 79-year-old former Algerian foreign minister told reporters after briefing the Security Council on April 19 that he was thinking about it but hadn’t resigned yet.
“Every day I wake up, I think I should resign,” he said. “But I haven’t so far. One day, perhaps, one day I will resign, and I assure you, you will find out.”
The diplomats said that day may be coming soon, despite Brahimi’s support from Ban, Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby and the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council — the US, Russia, China, Britain and France.
UN envoy Brahimi wants to quit
UN envoy Brahimi wants to quit
