Fayyad right man to be Libya envoy: UN chief

DUBAI — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday he believed former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad was the “right person” to be the world body’s envoy to Libya after the United States raised objections to the choice. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has expressed disappointment over Guterres’ choice, saying the world body has for too long been “unfairly biased in favor of the Palestinian Authority to the detriment of our allies in Israel”. Speaking at a summit in Dubai, Guterres said: “I believe he is the right person for the right job at the right moment... And I think it is a loss for the Libyan peace process and for the Libyan people that I am not able to appoint him.” The secretary-general said he “deeply regrets” the United States’ decision to block the former Palestinian prime minister from leading the world body’s political mission in Libya. Guterres said: “I think it is a loss for the Libyan peace process and the Libyan people I’m not able to appoint him.” Libya has been gripped by war and unrest since its 2011 revolution and the killing of Moammar Gadhafi. The UN chief declined to directly criticize the US or President Donald Trump in his remarks Monday at the annual World Government Summit in Dubai.