Arabs FMs to Meet Sunday to Discuss Annan Replacement
Arab ministers are to meet in Saudi Arabia Sunday to mull their next moves on the Syrian conflict after the resignation of U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan and who might succeed him, a top League official said.
The foreign ministers' meeting in the Red Sea city of Jeddah will discuss the "latest developments in Syria and what policy action to take" after Annan's announcement on August 2 that he was stepping down, the pan-Arab bloc's deputy secretary general Ahmed Ben Helli said.
They will also discuss a successor for the former U.N. chief, Ben Helli added.
Diplomats at the United Nations have tipped veteran Algerian diplomat, Lakhdar Brahimi, a former top League official, as the new envoy and France's ambassador Araud said Friday that a replacement could be named early next week.
But in a statement released on Friday, Brahimi made no mention of the speculation about his nomination, limiting himself to calling for an end to the bitter divisions on the U.N. Security Council over the Syrian conflict which Annan cited in his resignation announcement.
"The U.N. Security Council and regional states must unite to ensure that a political transition can take place as soon as possible," the 78-year-old said.
"Millions of Syrians are clamoring for peace. World leaders cannot remain divided any longer, over and above their cries."
Source: Agence France Presse
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