US, UK should not lead peace efforts over Lebanon: Annan's deputy

The United States and Britain should not lead diplomatic efforts over Lebanese war because of their involvement in war in Iraq, the United Nations' deputy secretary-general Mark Malloch Brown told the Financial Times yesterday.

Malloch Brown, the former administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) told the FT that the two countries, as "the team that led on Iraq," were poorly placed to lead peace efforts between Israel and Lebanon.

He said Britain should take a back seat in dealing with the conflict, while the United States should allow other countries to share the lead in the peace efforts.

"It's not helpful for it again to appear to be the team that led on Iraq," Malloch Brown said, adding that he would like to see France, Egypt and Jordan playing a bigger role in peace efforts to broker a ceasefire.

"This cannot be perceived as a US-UK deal with Israel." Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council were unable to agree on a resolution amid differences over the sequence of any ceasefire.

Meanwhile, The European Union (EU) on Tuesday failed to reach consensus on calling for an immediate ceasefire.