Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide was Thursday tipped as a likely contender for the position as UN envoy to Afghanistan, Norwegian media reported, according to dpa. Eide was the former Norwegian ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) from 1998 to 2002 before serving as Norwegian ambassador to NATO until 2006 when he transferred to the foreign ministry in Oslo. Both Norwegian broadcaster NRK and news agency NTB carried reports that Eide, 58, was in the running along with Canada's former foreign minister John Manley and Slovak Foreign Minister Jan Kubis. Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store attending an unofficial NATO meeting in Brussels Thursday declined comment, pending word from the United Nations headquarters in New York. The UN envoy was to coordinate humanitarian work with the NATO-led military campaign in Afghanistan. In January, the former leader of the British Liberal Democrats, Paddy Ashdown withdrew his name as envoy over objections from Afghan President Hamid Karzai. A year ago Eide also featured in speculation as a possible replacement for former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari as envoy to Kosovo. Ahtisaari was under fire from Serbia and Russia over a plan to make Kosovo an independent nation under a UN blueprint. The plan was subsequently shelved, and Kosovo in February declared itself independent.
