Lakhdar Brahimi, the veteran Algerian diplomat, may have started on the wrong foot in his newly appointed role as the special Syria peace envoy for the United Nations and the Arab League. And technically he has not even started the job yet.
Mr. Brahimi, who will replace the resigning Kofi Annan at the end of the month, apparently offended both the Syrian government and opposition in comments to the European press on Monday. He told France 24 in a televised interview that Syria's nearly 18-month-old conflict had evolved into a civil war. “I believe that it has already been the case for some time,†he said. “What we need to do is to stop the civil war and that is not going to be easy.â€
His remarks drew a sharp rebuke from the Foreign Ministry of Syria, which said in a statement carried by the official SANA news agency that “to speak of civil war in Syria contradicts reality and is found only in the head of conspirators.â€
Mr. Brahimi's perceived slight to the opposition came in a BBC News radio interview, where he said it was premature for him to conclude whether President Bashar al-Assad of Syria must resign as part of any solution to the conflict. “I am not in a position to say yet because I was appointed a couple of days ago,†Mr. Brahimi said.
By contrast Mr. Annan, in his resignation announcement more than two weeks ago, said the Syrian president must go, partly reflecting Mr. Annan's own frustrations with Mr. Assad during a fruitless effort to achieve a workable cease-fire and peace talks.
The Syrian National Council, the main opposition group in exile, said in a statement that Mr. Brahimi's remarks about Syria's president reflected “disregard for the blood of the Syrian people and their right of self-determination.â€
Mr. Brahimi said in the interview with BBC's Radio 4: “I am a mediator and a mediator has to speak to anybody and everybody without influence or interest.â€
