U.S. pledges continued cooperation with UN to help end Syrian conflict

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The United States said on Friday that it will continue to work with the United Nations to help end the prolonged conflict in Syria and promote a Syrian-led transition in the Middle East country.

Commenting on an announcement by UN Secretary-general Ban Ki- moon that Lakhdar Brahimi will replace Kofi Annan as the new UN- Arab League joint envoy for Syria, White House spokesman Josh Earnest described the Algerian as "a capable and seasoned diplomat, well-known to us and others in the international community."

"We look forward to continuing to work closely with the UN to support an end to the bloodshed in Syria, and the advancement of a Syrian-led and internationally supported political transition," he told reporters at a regular news briefing.

"What we do need to do, though, is we need to hear more from the UN on the mandate of Mr. Brahimi's new position," he added.

He also repeated Washington's call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down to make way for the political transition.

Russia and China, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, have opposed a forced regime change in Syria and advocated a negotiated settlement of the country's 17-month conflict.

Annan announced early this month his intention to step down when his current mandate expires on Aug. 31, saying that he did not have sufficient international support for his efforts to end the Syrian conflict. Enditem

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