The UN Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, announced that he will step down from his post at the end of November.
Mistura’s announcement came during an open meeting of the UN Security Council regarding Syria on Oct. 17, 2018, saying: “I will leave my post in November.”
Mistura asked the guarantor countries of the Astana talks to hold a meeting with him to consult on Syria before he leaves his post.
On Wednesday, sources close to Mistura announced he was expected to visit Damascus on Oct. 24, 2018, to discuss the latest events with regards to the formation of the constitutional council.
The United Nations appointed the Swedish diplomat as UN Special Envoy to Syria in July 2014.
Mistura did not say why he was resigning, only saying that the reasons were “personal.”
Many accusations have been directed at the UN Special Envoy, primarily that he is biased to one side over the other, due to some statements he made or some positions he took.
The United Nations has not yet announced the names nominated to follow Mistura, amid reports that the former Algerian Foreign Minister, Ramtane Lamamra, would follow him.
Since the start of the Syrian crisis, three UN envoys have managed the Syria file: Lakhdar Brahimi, who took over his post in August 2012, and before him Kofi Annan, who was appointed envoy to Syria for less than six months, beginning in February 2012 and ending in August of the same year.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
