UNITED NATIONS, October 31. /TASS/. Norwegian diplomat Geir Pedersen has been appointed as the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Syria, the secretary general’s Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a briefing on Wednesday.

"United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced today the appointment of Geir O. Pedersen of Norway as his Special Envoy for Syria. The Secretary General takes this opportunity to reiterate his deepest gratitude to Staffan de Mistura of Italy for his concerted efforts and contributions to the search for peace in Syria," he said.

"Pedersen brings to this position decades of political and diplomatic experience, having served both in government and United Nations capacities, most recently as Norway’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China (since 2017) and as Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations (2012 to 2017)," Dujarric added.

Pedersen, born in Oslo in 1955, served as Norway’s representative to the Palestinian Authority in 1998-2003. He also worked as Personal Representative of the UN Secretary General for Southern Lebanon and Director of the Asia and Pacific Division in the UN Department of Political Affairs.

On October 17, de Mistura said that he planned to step down as UN Special Envoy for Syria in late November.