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Algeria’s Brahimi agrees to be Syria mediator
UNITED NATIONS - Veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi has agreed to replace Kofi Annan as the international mediator on Syria, though he intends to take a fresh approach as the 17-month-old conflict slips deeper into civil war, U.N. sources said on Thursday. Diplomats told Reuters that Brahimi, who had been undecided for days about whether to accept the offer of the post from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, did not want to be seen as a mere replacement of Annan but wanted a reconfigured title and fresh approach to his mandate as a peace broker.
He won't ask for money up front?
“He has agreed to take the post but with an amended title; he has new ideas about the approach to take,” a U.N. source told Reuters on condition of anonymity, adding that Ban accepted that. Two Security Council diplomats confirmed the remarks.

U.N. officials said it was not clear when an official announcement would be made. Annan’s title was joint special envoy for the United Nations and Arab League.

It remains unclear what Brahimi’s formal link with the Arab League, if any, will be, diplomats said. They said Brahimi would be based in New York, unlike Annan, who is based in Geneva.
Posted by: Steve White 2012-08-17
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=350349