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Russian diplomat appointed head of UN counter-terrorism office

Last Friday, the 71st session of the UN General Assembly unanimously approved the establishment of a new body

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Russia calls on global community to forge united front in war on terror — diplomat

UNITED NATIONS, June 21. /TASS/. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Vladimir Voronkov who is currently Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Under-Secretary-General and head of the newly-established UN Counterterrorism Office. The UN chief said as much in a statement circulated at the UN headquarters on Wednesday.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Guterres promised to name the head of the new office later this week. "I do believe that we have a problem of coordination of the 38 entities that within the UN deal with counterterrorism, so it makes full sense to have a dedicated office with a responsible (person)," he said.

Last Friday, the 71st session of the UN General Assembly unanimously approved the establishment of a new body - the UN Counterterrorism Office. The Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force Office and the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre will be transferred to the new office, along with their existing staff and all associated regular and extra-budgetary resources. The new office would he headed by an under-secretary-general.

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