by Stefano Vaccara
NEW YORK (UNITED STATES) (ITALPRESS) – It is clear. After weeks in which the conflict in the Middle East has relegated the United Nations to the margins, Secretary General António Guterres tries to return to the match with the appointment of French Jean Arnault as his personal envoy for the crisis.
The announcement arrived today at the Security Council’s stakeout, with unusually clean tones. Guterres admitted that, more than three weeks after the beginning of the war, the situation is now “out of control”, with the risk of regional escalation and an increasingly heavier global economic impact.
“It’s time to stop climbing the escalation scale and return to that of diplomacy,” said the Secretary-General, announcing at the same time Arnault’s choice to lead UN efforts on conflict and its consequences.
Diplomatic with over thirty years of experience, Arnault has already held key positions in Afghanistan, Colombia and Bolivia, and is considered an experienced mediator in highly complex contexts. In his speech, Guterres launched direct messages to all the actors involved: the United States and Israel asked to stop the war, Iran to cease attacks on neighbouring countries. He also warned that the Hormuz Strait block is already hitting global energy and fertilizer flows, aggravating economic tensions.
From the humanitarian crisis expanding to the volatility of markets, the Secretary-General outlined an increasingly critical framework, reasserting that “war is not the answer” and that the way out remains the diplomatic one. Arnault’s appointment thus marks an attempt to bring the UN back to play a role in the management of the crisis. It remains to be understood whether, in addition to the political signal, there will be real margins to affect a conflict so far guided only by the powers that have unleashed it.
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
