UNITED NATIONS, Aug 1: Saying that he looked forward to working with new US Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday warned him he would need to work in a spirit of give-and-take to succeed in the job.
Mr Annan was asked if he was worried the abrasive Bolton, who has been an outspoken critic of the United Nations, would try to thrust reforms sought by United States through a reluctant UN membership.
“I think it is alright for one ambassador to come and push. But an ambassador always has to remember that there are 190 others who will have to be convinced, or a vast majority of them, for action to take place,” said Mr Annan.
“And so I think if one comes with that spirit, that spirit of give and take, that spirit of listening to others, that spirit of working with them in a collaborative manner to seek something that is mutually acceptable, that ambassador will succeed,” he added.
Mr Annan said he knew Bolton as able and bright from working with him in the past.
“It is important that we work together to achieve the major reforms that are on the table,” the UN leader said, adding that the US-UN relationship ‘has strayed a little recently and we should be able to get it back on keel’.
