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US Mideast Envoy Mitchell to Resign

14 May 2011 04:31 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. U.S. President Barack Obama’s Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, is resigning, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.
The president is expected to issue a statement Friday on the personnel change.
White House spokesman Jay Carney says Mr. Obama is as committed as ever to the Middle East peace process, describing it as an â€œextraordinarily hard issue.â€
Mitchell, a former senator, has been in the post since the start of the Obama administration in January 2009. He has traveled extensively to the Middle East in an effort to broker peace.
The announcement comes as the peace efforts are seemingly at a standstill. Next week, President Obama delivers a speech on U.S. policy in the Middle East, and meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
Carney says Mr. Obama next week will deliver a â€œsweeping, comprehensive speechâ€ about the upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa and the U.S. response. He says the president will also call on governments in the region to respond to the people’s demands through peaceful political dialogue.