MOSCOW, June 26 (RIA Novosti) – Russia expects the United Nations to make a decision on a new candidate for the position of UN and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Thursday.
“We are waiting for [UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to make] concrete proposals,” Bogdanov said.
Currently, there is no information about a possible successor to UN and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, who resigned last month, according to the diplomat.
Brahimi was appointed by the UN as the peace envoy to Syria, replacing Kofi Annan, in 2012. Brahimi presided over two rounds of peace talks between the Assad government and the Syrian opposition in Geneva this January and February, but yielded no major results.
An armed conflict broke out in Syria in March 2011 and has since claimed more than 130,000 lives, according to UN estimates. Government troops are fighting various armed groups, including foreign mercenaries.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned the rise of terrorism in Syria and has urged the international community to take steps toward a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
