Syria's future to be built only by Syrian people

Lakhdar Brahimi, the joint special representative of the UN and Arab League for Syria, said here Tuesday that "the future of Syria will be built by its people and none other." Addressing the UN General Assembly on Syria, Brahimi said, "The future of Syria will be built by its people and none other. The support of the international community is indispensable and urgent. " "It will only be effective if all put in the same direction," he said. Brahimi, the former Algerian foreign minister and a widely respected UN official, formally replaced Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary-general, as the international mediator on the Syrian conflict on Sept. 1. Annan announced his resignation from the post of UN-Arab League joint envoy to Syria in early August in frustration over his failure to mediate a way out of the 18-month Syrian conflict. "As I told the secretary-general a few days ago, I will spare no effort to participate in the common endeavor to find peace for the Syrian people," Brahimi said. "The situation in Syria "has been deteriorating steadily," Brahimi said. "The death toll is staggering, the destruction is reaching catastrophic proportions and the suffering is immense." Meanwhile, he said he will go to Cairo, the capital of Egypt, in a few days to talk with Nabil al-Araby, the secretary-general of the Arab League, adding "I am looking forward to my visit to Damascus in a few days time, and also, when convenient and possible to all the countries who are in a position to help the Syrian-led political process become a reality." Syria has announced its readiness to cooperate fully with Brahimi in seeking a political solution to the ongoing crisis in the country. The Syrian-led political process should result in "leading to a transition that respects the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and enables them independently and democratically to determine their own future," he said. Also at the General Assembly meeting, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that Brahimi "will help to facilitate such a political solution and transition as called for by resolutions of this Assembly, the Security Council and the League of Arab States. " "I know he is counting on your collective support for his difficult mission," Ban told the 193-member General Assembly. "I appeal to you today to provide solid and unified support to his difficult and essential mission." Representatives from Brazil, India and Pakistan, who took the floor at the General Assembly meeting, all voiced their support to the good offices of Brahimi on Syria.