Britain has appointed its U.N. Ambassador, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, as its new envoy to Iraq.
Mr. Greenstock was expected to retire later this year. Instead, one of Britain's best known diplomats says he will go to Baghdad in September to serve as his country's special representative in Iraq.
"I am very pleased that the Prime Minister has asked me to go and spend some time in Iraq later this year and into next year to try and help bring Iraq back to the control of the Iraqi people and to improve the circumstances on the ground," he said.
Mr. Greenstock, a fluent Arabic speaker, has served as Britain's U.N. Ambassador since 1998. He played a high profile role in the pre-war Security Council debates on Iraq.
Mr. Greenstock made his remarks about his new post after updating the Security Council on the situation in Iraq during a closed-door meeting.
"We are making a lot of progress, actually, but the work that there still to do gets the emphasis," he said. "Life is still quite difficult in Iraq for Iraqis."
Mr. Greenstock will serve as the British equivalent to Iraq's U.S. administrator, Paul Bremer. He will replace Britain's former Ambassador to Egypt, John Sawyers, who has served, temporarily, as Britain's special Iraq envoy.