By Xinhua,
Canberra : Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Thursday he would not stand in the way of former foreign minister Alexander Downer for a job with the United Nations.
Reports said earlier in the day that Downer has been approached about a job with the UN helping to revive the stalled peace process in Cyprus, aimed at reunifying the island.
Rudd said he had given the government’s blessing to a UN role for Downer.
“The United Nations has asked for the government’s response to (the role for Mr Downer),” Rudd told reporters. And what the government had said quite clearly “is that should they extend that invitation to Mr Downer, we would support it.”
“We would support it on a bipartisan basis, because it would bean important appointment for Australia as a special envoy,” Rudd said.
Rudd admitted that he had had a difficult relationship with Downer over the years, “but if the UN says they want Mr. Downer to do a job on Cyprus, I’m not going to stand in the road of that and he would have my complete support.”