Guterres Defends Choice of Palestinian as UN Envoy

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has defended his choice to appoint former Palestinian premier, Salam Fayyad, as UN envoy to Libya and expressed his "deep" regret over US opposition to his appointment. Guterres described Fayyad, a former World Bank official with a track record of fighting corruption, as "the right person for the right job at the right moment" in his remarks at the annual World Government Summit hosted by Dubai, the UAE, on Monday, Aljazeera reported. "I deeply regret this opposition and I do not see any reason for it," Guterres said. "It is a loss for the Libyan peace process and the Libyan people," he said, adding that the UN "needs to be able to act with impartiality". The UN secretary-general on Wednesday had informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint Fayyad as a replacement for German Martin Kobler to conflict-torn Libya. However, Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the UN, vetoed the appointment, saying Washington did not support the message the move would send.