I am satisfied with the level of cooperation. I don’t think that putting an unbearable pressure on Syria would really be very productive at this stage.

On management reform, you have one side basically saying that the secretary general should be empowered and should have all flexibility as a kind of C.E.O. and the other side saying that it is not...

The views of the United States are very important … We will take them into account.

definitely raises difficult problems for Algeria, probably other countries.

The secretary-general as of today is perceived as a diplomat and political person who has responsibility, this is how he is perceived rather than as a manager. And proper tribute is paid to him for...

He’s a very smart guy who can be very constructive, who can be very creative. So I think it will be very interesting to spend a few months with him in the Security Council,

What we need from these Europeans is to put an end to these networks, … We accept any mission whose objective is to exchange views with Algerians in order to strengthen the fight against terrorism.

We have made it clear that it is premature and it is unjustified to talk about sanctions when the investigation is still going on and we do not know what will be the final outcome,

I don’t think the time has come to envisage any premature, any action or any kind of measures, what is expected from all concerned at this stage is to fully cooperate with the investigation,

What matters in our eyes is that he’s the president’s choice and that he’s close to the president. That gives him certainly the authority to deal with us in New York.

People were very cautious, to say the least, because of his reputation as a tough guy who didn’t like the U.N. … In fact, I was the only one who said that Bolton was an...

In the past five years, Kofi Annan focused on Africa because the Africans had the impression the United Nations was not doing enough for them,

I think honestly he can keep doing his job… It’s important for him and for us to have a good outcome at this summit. If we have a good outcome, if we have real reforms...

You cannot give all the powers to the secretary general. The General Assembly has to keep its main prerogative, and the secretary general and all bodies should be accountable to the General Assembly.

This test of the U.N. mission in Sierra Leone shows very clearly that the mandates and resources are not and never were appropriate to the situation,

The United Nations has no role to play in Algeria, … What is taking place in Algeria is something which we have to handle ourselves.