Lakhdar Brahimi, special envoy of the UN and the Arab League (LAS) for Syria, will resign in late May, RIA Novosti reports.
He was initially planning to resign at a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday. The latter persuaded him to stay until a successor is found.
Permanent members of the UNSC, Germany and Turkey continue discussions about a new special envoy. Javier Solana, NATO ex-secretary general and EU ex-high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Kevin Rudd, Australian ex-prime minister, and Kamal Marjan, a Tunisian politician and diplomat, are the candidates to replace Brahimi. Marjan is considered to be the most likely choice.
Brahimi, aged 80, became the special envoy for Syria in September 2012. He succeeded in persuading the Syrian government and opposition to attend negotiations in Geneva in early 2014.
