Khalilzad Takes Up New U.N. Post; Goes To Kosovo

The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, will seek greater U.N. involvement in Iraq.

The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, will seek greater U.N. involvement in Iraq and put a priority on addressing other Middle East flash points as well as Sudan and Kosovo, his spokesman said on Monday.

Khalilzad, formerly U.S. ambassador to Iraq, took up his post on Monday in succession to John Bolton, who left last December. Bolton had failed to win Senate approval for his nomination after serving a 16-month tenure in which he aggressively pursued U.S. interests but clashed with fellow ambassadors on his tactics.

Khalilzad will travel immediately, joining a U.N. mission that departs New York late on Tuesday for Serbia's independence-seeking province of Kosovo. His participation was encouraged by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.S. officials said.

"Ambassador Khalilzad was saying today that his priorities ... for the first couple of months are obviously Iran, Lebanon, Syria and U.N. reform," spokesman Richard Grenell said.

"He wants to be able to figure out where we're going to go and how much we're going to push and how quickly we're going to push on some of these proposals," Grenell said.

"I think obviously Kosovo is another priority, which is why he's going on the trip," Grenell added. "Obviously I should say the number one priority for all of the U.S. is Iraq, and him being one of the experts on Iraq ... A very big priority for him is to get the United Nations more involved."

U.N. activity in Iraq has been limited since the world body's office in Baghdad was blown up in August 2003, killing 22 people including mission chief Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Iran has been the subject of two U.N. Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment as part of its nuclear program. The deadline for Tehran to comply with the latest demands expires in late May.

In Lebanon, the U.N. is trying to set up a tribunal to try suspects in the killing of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri but has had trouble getting formal Lebanese approval because of opposition from pro-Syrian politicians. Syria has denied allegations that it was involved in the killing.

The United Nations has drawn up a plan that comes close to granting full independence to majority-ethnic Albanian Kosovo, but has run into fierce opposition from Serbia, which is backed by Russia.

And in Sudan, the world body is trying to convince Khartoum to accept a peacekeeping force of more than 20,000 to protect civilians in a four-year conflict in Darfur.

Most U.N. diplomats declined comment on the appointment of Khalilzad, a 56-year-old Sunni Muslim born in Afghanistan. But South Africa's outspoken ambassador, Dumisani Kumalo, told reporters with a laugh: "He can't be worse than Bolton was."

Bolton clashed frequently with developing nations, in part by trying to hold up the U.N. budget until certain reforms were enacted.

Since Bolton's departure, the U.S. embassy has been headed by its deputy chief of mission, Ambassador Alejandro Wolff, a career foreign service officer. The United States has veto power on the 15-nation Security Council.