Lakhdar Brahimi, an Algerian former foreign minister, has agreed in principle to become the United Nations special envoy for Syria, according to Western diplomats at UN headquarters in New York.
Brahimi, 78, would take over on September 1 from Kofi Annan as Syria crisis envoy for the UN and the Arab League. The Western diplomats said he was still discussing the details of his proposed mandate, dpa reported.
The Russian news agency Interfax first reported late Thursday citing unnamed diplomats that Brahimi would replace Annan.
The Algerian, who was a confidant of Annan during his tenure as UN secretary general, was heavily favoured to be the new envoy for the Syria crisis, which began with anti-government demonstrations in early 2011.
He previously served as UN special envoy to Afghanistan and Iraq.