The President of the UN General Assembly, Vuk Jeremić, intends to take over the position of UN Secretary-General, replacing the South Korean diplomat Ban Ki-moon, and is already ‘actively lobbying’ for this role, writes Belgrade’s Blic on Monday, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.
This Belgrade political tabloid states that the Slovak Foreign Minister and former high international official in the Balkans, Miroslav Lajčak, would also have a good chance for the position of Secretary-General. “Blic” notes that Vuk Jeremić could have the support of Russia and China on one side, but also significant opposition from the USA on the other. An unnamed American diplomat explained to “Blic” the possible scenario for the election of the UN Secretary-General, as it is reportedly required that this person be someone from one of the Eastern European countries.
– In the first round, Russia will likely propose its candidate, while the US candidate will be from one of the Baltic countries. Then, in the second round, the US might propose a Pole, and Russia Jeremić. Since the US does not want to hear about Jeremić, the compromise will be some Czech or Slovak – says an unnamed Blic source. The paper also presents an assessment from the American diplomat that there are serious chances for Miroslav Lajčak, the head of Slovak diplomacy, to replace Ban Ki-moon, noting that he enjoys a good reputation in international diplomatic circles.
