Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan is stepping down as the UN-Arab League mediator in the 17-month-old Syria conflict at the end of the month, the UN said on Thursday, the latest sign that the outlook for a diplomatic solution is bleak.
Annan said he was quitting as international envoy to Syria, complaining that his April peace plan had not received the support it deserved from major powers.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Annan cited “finger-pointing and name-calling” in the 15-nation Security Council, which he said had prevented coordinated action to end the bloodshed, as one of the reasons for his decision to step down.
Photo: AFP
“Mr Annan has informed me, and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Mr Nabil Elaraby, of his intention not to renew his mandate when it expires on Aug. 31,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement, adding that he and Elaraby were in discussions on appointing a successor to Annan.
“Kofi Annan deserves our profound admiration for the selfless way in which he has put his formidable skills and prestige to this most difficult and potentially thankless of assignments,” Ban said.
Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin was quick to react, suggesting to reporters outside the Security Council in New York that Moscow was disappointed that Annan was bowing out.
“We understand that it’s his decision,” Churkin told reporters. “We regret that he chose to do so. We have supported very strongly Kofi Annan’s efforts ... ”
Churkin added he was encouraged that Ban was looking for a successor to Annan.
Council diplomats have said privately that the US and Gulf Arab states have become increasingly frustrated in recent weeks with what they saw as Annan’s dogged commitment to diplomacy at a time when they believe all avenues for dialogue with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have been exhausted.
Churkin quickly started finger-pointing about Annan’s departure, suggesting that Western powers that opposed “reasonable and balanced proposals” in the council undermined Annan’s peace efforts from the start.
However, Western diplomats blame Russia and China for vetoing three council resolutions intended to ratchet up the pressure on al-Assad to stop his attacks on civilians and halt the fighting, which has escalated into a full-scale civil war.
In spite of this, China expressed regret today over Annan’s resignation and said it would continue to “work for a political resolution” to the conflict. Beijing also said it wanted the UN to play an important role in trying to solve the deadly 17-month conflict.
“China expresses regret at Annan’s resignation. We understand the difficulty of Annan’s mediation work, and respect his decision,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei (洪磊) said in a statement. “China supports the UN playing an important role in the appropriate resolution of the Syrian issue.”
Iran said the blame lies on the West, especially the US, for the failure of Annan’s peace plan, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was reported as saying yesterday by Iraniana state media.
“The West and some regional countries did not want Annan to succeed,” he said, quoted by the IRNA news agency. “Every time Mr Annan sought to resolve the Syrian crisis, the West created obstacles.”
Salehi said Annan’s resignation was due to intransigence by the US, not by Russia and China as US officials have asserted.
“The lack of unity in the Security Council that Mr Annan spoke of is not about China or Russia; the Americans are turning it around and pinning it on them. They seek to impose their own ideas and they do not [want] to speak the truth,” Salehi said.
Salehi added that Annan’s six-point peace plan had been accepted by Syria and other regional countries, but those nations supporting Syria’s rebels “did not let Mr Annan succeed in implementing his plan.”
He also said he hoped any successor to Annan as envoy would work as “independently” as Annan did, and warned that any Western-aligned envoy “would fail, because the other side would not cooperate with him.”
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS