Praise for Annan as Syria peace envoy quits

The United Nations Secretary-General has
commended Kofi Annan’s attempts to broker an end to the Syrian uprising following the peace envoy’s resignation.

Annan, who represented the UN and the Arab League, says he will not renew his mandate when it expires at the end of the month.

Ban Ki-moon said the task, to resolve the 17 month old conflict, had been “difficult” and “thankless.”

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Annan blamed “finger pointing and name-calling” within the 15-nation UN Security Council for his decision to quit.

“I can’t want peace more than the protagonists, more than the Security Council or the international community for that matter,” he said.

It is understood that the US was unhappy with the peace envoy’s continued commitment to diplomacy.

Annan, himself the former UN chief, devised a six-point peace plan which both the regime’s military and Syrian rebels have failed to respect.

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