Annan quits ‘Mission Impossible’ Syrian peacemaker role

Kofi Annan AP Photo

GENEVA—Kofi Annan said Thursday he had quit as UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, complaining of a lack of support and the increasing militarisation of the conflict.

“I did not receive all the support that the cause deserved,” Annan told a hastily scheduled press conference in Geneva.

He added that “continuous finger-pointing and name-calling” in the UN Security Council had hindered his attempts to implement the so-called six-point peace plan.

“The increasing militarization on the ground and the lack of unanimity in the Security Council fundamentally changed my role,” the former UN chief said.

He added that some people called his task ‘Mission Impossible’, but he said he accepted it “for I believed it was a sacred duty to do whatever was in my power to help the Syrian people find a peaceful solution to this bloody conflict … however daunting the challenge”.

Annan said his efforts were not matched by any of the parties he was dealing with to find a solution to the conflict.

“You have to understand: as an envoy, I can’t want peace more than the protagonists, more than the Security Council or the international community for that matter.

“I have therefore informed the secretary-general of the UN and secretary-general of the Arab League today that I do not intend to continue my mission when my mandate expires at the end of August.”

Predicting that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would go “sooner or later”, Annan did not rule out his successor having more luck or success, despite his warning there was “no plan B”.

“These crises are never static…as the situation evolves there may be other approaches,” he said.

“The world is full of crazy people like me so don’t be surprised if someone else arrives to take it on,” he said.

Annan also denied that his resignation meant the Syrian people would be left to fend for themselves, saying that “the international community can do a lot more if they were to work in concert to bring sustained pressure” on the various parties involved.