Italian-Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura will be the new UN mediator for Syria, taking on the Herculean task of finding a political solution to the devastating civil war, diplomats say.
De Mistura is set to replace Lakhdar Brahimi, who resigned in May after two rounds of peace talks yielded no concrete results and as the conflict escalated into a fourth year, killing more than 162,000 people.
But although Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had been expected to announce de Mistura’s appointment on Wednesday, he wrapped up a news conference on the Middle East without doing so.
“I’m going to make an announcement very soon but not today,” he told reporters when questioned about the delay.
Although diplomats said Security Council members had already been informed, Ban said further consultations were necessary.
“We need to get everybody on board,” said Ban. “It’s very close.”
De Mistura would represent the United Nations and have a yet unnamed Arab deputy, one diplomat said.
Brahimi, a well-respected and seasoned Algerian diplomat with extensive mediation experience, served as joint representative of both the United Nations and Arab League to Syria.
Ban warned last month that the new mediator would not have a magic wand to resolve the conflict and de Mistura now looks set to inherit a job many diplomats consider flat-out impossible.