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Moscow welcomes appointment of Brahimi as envoy for Syria

Moscow welcomes the appointment of Lakhdar Brahimi as U.N. and Arab League envoy for Syria

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, August 18 (Itar-Tass) —— Moscow welcomes the appointment of Lakhdar Brahimi as U.N. and Arab League envoy for Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

Moscow with satisfaction knew about the appointment of Brahimi on August 17 as a special envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for Syria. The former Algerian foreign minister is well known as an experienced diplomat, who has rich peacemaking experience. He headed U.N. missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Haiti, the ministry noted.

Brahimi is a member of the Group of Elders, known world politicians, who provide consultative assistance for the United Nations to solve difficult international problems.

Russia believes Brahimi's work will be based on the already existing Road Map for the Syrian settlement -- Kofi Annan's peace plan and the communique of last June's ministerial meeting of the Group of Action for Syria in Geneva, as well as the corresponding decisions of the U.N. Security Council.

He is expected to continue the contacts with all the Syrian parties, urging them to stop violence and begin a political dialogue on the country's future.

Moscow is ready for close cooperation with the new envoy to overcome the crisis in Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

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