Newly-appointed joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said Friday he would put the interests of the Syrian people above all others, as he seeks a solution to end 18 months of violence that the United Nations says has claimed more than 18,000 lives. Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister who has also served as a U.N. envoy in Iraq and Afghanistan, met with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York and said that he “was honored, flattered, humbled and scared" when Ban called to ask him to take on the role. “I am still in that frame of mind," Brahimi said while speaking to the press with Ban. “I will definitely give this my very, very best." “I know a few people in Syria, and in the region. I have already spoken a little bit about the situation there and about how I was going to serve the United Nations and yourself, the Arab League, and Dr. Nabil ElAraby, but above all the Syrian people," Brahimi said. “They will be our first masters. We will consider their interests above and before everything else. We will try to help as much as we can. We will not spare any effort. I am very, very, glad and very happy and very grateful, confident of your support. Let's try and see what we can do," Brahimi said. For his part, Ban said, “You have the full respect and full support of the international community. It is crucially important that the Security Council, the whole United Nations System is supporting your work, and we are very happy to have you again." Brahimi is expected to spend the next week in New York meeting with U.N. officials and diplomats.
