Sir Geoffrey Nice - British barrister HARDtalk

Could open have the... The headlines: Sun Myung Moon one has

died. He gained thousands of followers in the 1970s and 1980s.

He was accused of brainwashing his followers and lining his pockets.

A bail hearing is due to take place in Pakistan for a young Christian

girl, arrested last month under the country's controversial blasphemy

laws. On Sunday, a Muslim cleric was arrested under suspicion of

attempting to frame her. In a surprise result, Oscar but

stories of South Africa was narrowly beaten in the 200 metres

at the Paralympic Games in London. Afterwards, he complained that the

winner, from Brazil, had unfairly when thinned his running blades,

which was denied by the Paralympic Committee -- lengthened.

Now a change to our normal programming. The new international

envoy if to Syria has described the task ahead of him as nearly

impossible. Only his second day in the job, he spoke to the BBC in New

York. Welcome to this BBC News's special.

It is now almost 18 months since the uprising in Syria. Here in New

York, the international community remains deeply divided over what to

do next. This week, the new envoy takes over from where Kofi Annan

left off, trying to bring peace to a country many now say it is in the

midst of a brutal civil war. Kofi Annan called it a mission

impossible. How can a veteran Algerian diplomat, one of the UN's

most experienced trouble shooters, succeed where his predecessor

failed? Wellcome, thank you for talking to

the BBC. Thank you for having me. Is it mission impossible? I suppose

it is, if Kofi Annan says so. It is definitely a very, very difficult

issue. Kofi Annan has done everything possible. I was in touch

with him all the time. We discussed this several times. I can't think

of anything that I would have done differently from him. So he read

into a brick wall? Exactly. -- ran into. That is what everybody is

saying. I am standing in front of that wall, I will see Kofi Annan

again a couple of days. I suppose we will have a look. Some people

have said there are some cracks in that wall. We will see of those

cracks exist. If they don't, we will have to see if we can go round

the wall. There is no other choice. Whether we can work out something,

something out of those cracks that to him the wall, with a weekend or

around it, I don't know. Some say that you would not have risked your

reputation unless you saw some hope somewhere. No, No. I don't see any

cracks. Somebody else said there may be cracks. We're trying to find

them. You don't see any yourself? don't see any myself yet. We are

examining the wall to see if there are any cracks to work on. 78 years

old - coming into this, I am coming into it with my eyes open. With no

illusions that it is going to be easy. But then, have you heard of

the mission that the United Nations have undertaken which has been

easy? So, you know, it is my duty. My duty to try, and that is what I

will do. And yet, in public, you told the UN Secretary General that

you were honoured, but also scared. What are you scared of? I am scared

of the weight of the responsibility. People are already saying that

people are dying - what are you doing to help? Indeed, we are not

doing much. That in itself is a terrible weight. I realise the

importance and the difficulty of the responsibility. This is, I

think, what they expect. importance of succeeding, if it is

possible? Absolutely, it should be possible. But you see this is also

an appeal to everybody inside Syria and outside Syria to say - this is

not the numbers of people that are getting killed every day only. As

bad as that is, it is much more than that. What's going to happen

to Syria next year if we don't find some kind of solution? The

beginning of a solution right now. What is going to happen around

Syria? Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, and further afield. This is

what we are doing. This is what Kofi Annan said in his resignation

statement. This is what we're continuing to say every day.

have come to New York, you have now talk to or met every member of the

Security Council. The divided Security Council that Kofi Annan

cited as the main reasons for his failure. Did you see a glimmer of

hope? Not yet. We are in touch with them. We are continuing to talk to

them. They have all expressed welcome, support, thanks for

excepting the difficult mission, which is great. That individual

support they have expressed will have to translate into a collective

support. But it is paralysed. Some have even gone so far as to say

that it is almost a new Cold War. You have Russia and China backing

President Assad. You have Western and Arab states backing the

opposition. Sure. Yeah. Do you see it as a new Cold War? I don't know

if it is a new Cold War, but it is bad. It is a worry for us. There is

no vitality that will remain like that, next week, next month, after

that. The General Assembly is coming, everyone will be here.

Everybody is talking, you know, I have seen statements by the Russian

Foreign Minister. A lot of people have talked to me directly, the

Russian Foreign Minister, the Chinese Foreign Minister. Quite a

few other people. We will be trying to see how they can work together.

Did any of them say to you "we are really sorry that Kofi Annan had to

resign because of us and we will try harder"? In those terms, no.

(LAUGHTER).... Kofi Annan denounced finger-pointing. But he pointed

quite a few fingers himself. I think they are aware of that.

have already made it clear - a veiled threat - you said "if I

don't have support, I don't have a job". Did I say that? Yes. You know,

this is literally true. It's not the first time that I have told the

Security Council - you asked me to do something and then you don't

give me any support. The last time was in Afghanistan in 1999. There

was no Cold War behaviour then. do see it as cold-war behaviour.

That is what you say. There was no Cold War behaviour then, and yet

there was no support for me. I politely said, you know, in these

conditions, there is no work for me. When you call for fundamental and

urgent change, what does that mean for you? I think it is clear in

every single country, the people in the Arab world are asking for

change. Some or asking for a regime change, some use other slogans. The

need for change is real. In February last year, 2011, I said

something like "change is needed, change is unavoidable". Governments

can lead that change in their respective countries, but if they

don't, they will be its victim. I stand by that. By those statements.

Bashar al-Assad has had 18 months, almost. Is that enough time to show

whether he is willing to lead the change? A lot of Syrians have

decided that it shows he hasn't. You know, I still need to talk to a

lot more people to make up my mind about which direction things will

go. I am a man of peace. I am optimistic - I have to be

optimistic, even in the face of extreme difficulty. Again, I am not

going to pass judgement - or at least, not yet. You said that you

agree with almost everything Kofi Annan did or said. In his parting

advice he said "it is clear President Bashar al-Assad must

leave office." Do you agree? again, I'm not going to comment. I

stand by what I said about Kofi Annan. He is a friend and I have

been very close to him throughout the time he has been working. That

is what I meant - don't take it literally that I approve of every

single word he has said. It has been noted that in your other

difficult negotiations you seem to have chosen the snow victor, no

vanquished approach, which means kind of power-sharing. Do you see

this in a situation like Syria where President Assad is facing

opposition but still retains some support? Again, if you talk about

my approach - might approach is that, in every situation there is a

common ground. Even if the people involved in the conflict don't see

it to begin with. The media -- at the mediator tries to make them

aware of that common ground and to investigate how they can extend

that ground. Her will, at the end of the process, hold what share of

power, is, of course - will be the result of the negotiations and the

discussions, the debate. This is really for the people of the

country to decide. I think you are aware of my great insistence on the

fact that people from outside can help a process, but the decisions,

the ownership of the process has to be in the hands of the people. This

is not just the manner of speaking with me. I believe that 100%. You

know, it will be the Syrian people, once they realise, as I hope they

will, that every conflict has to end up in a negotiation. The

earlier they realise that, the better. When they do that, then it

is up to them to decide who will hold what part of the power. If I

had understood you correctly - at this point you don't want to say

publicly whether you believe or not that President Assad should step

down, but you believe he should be part of a transition? I'm not

making any similar statements of who is where and so on. I will go

back to my statement in February 2011 - change is indispensable,

change is unavoidable, it cannot be cosmetic and governments have to

accept it otherwise they will have problems. In effect, you are being

very diplomatic, you are saying it in other words. The definition of

fundamental - and you yourself may have been one of the first people

to say there will be a revolution - that means, by definition, they

will have to be a new order, the new leader. You know, there will be

a new order. Who are the people will be in that new order, I don't

know. If they can adapt and accept the new order, genuinely, you know,

maybe the people will accept that. I don't know - that is not for me

to say now. So does it worry you that your reticence to make a

statement has angered the opposition even before you took the

job. I met them and I told them - please, please remember I am not to

winning only you. I am working for two situations - I am a diplomat, I

am a mediator, a negotiator. I don't speak the same language as

you. I met them, and I hope that that has been clarified. In a

conflict like this, a very brutal conflict - is it the government's

side that has to take the first step because they are in power?

This is what Kofi Annan ended up by saying. He said that the government

has the main responsibility. They have the big guns, they have the

army, I don't know how big the Syrian army is - hundreds of

thousands. Much more important than that - every government is

responsible for the security of its own people. So, you know, I am sure

they will not object if you ask them to have more responsibility

Kofi Annan called them intransigent. Yes. Is your first task a

ceasefire? That would be great. it possible? Kofi Annan didn't

succeed with that. All parties started by saying yes. I have that

they are now is for it more aware of all of the damage that a

continuation of fighting would inflict. I certainly will be

discussing this with them. President Assad said he needs more

time to crush the opposition. The opposition has repeatedly said here

it will not talk to President Assad. There are so many different groups.

It is difficult Fiji know who to talk to. It is not uncommon in the

situations. We will talk to all of those who are ready to talk to last

and are represented. They say they did not want to talk to one another.

If they did, they would not be me. I hope that they will be talking to

me. That will lead us to them talking to one another. We need to

take a different approach than Kofi Annan did. His peace plan failed.

The ceasefire never held. You have changed the name of your job.

You've asked Ray different mandate. How do you want to do is different

Nic Naitanui I don't know. Kofi Annan said in his press conference

about the plan, he said those points, I love taking with me, they

will stay on the table. -- I am not taking them with me. What I am

saying is that now we have a double box in which we put all of the

instruments. Why put tolls in the box when there is work? Many

observers have said that the plan is dead. It has not succeeded.

is not true. Kofi Annan is gone. He says the plan stays behind. Will

not use it in exactly same manner as it was used. We found that it

was not right. It is good to have it. We will see what we can make of

it. You have said it is urgent. Every day more people are dying.

Your experience as a negotiator, she did not have a plan? He has

been meeting opposition leaders for more than one year in Paris. You

have been talking to Kofi Annan war through the six months. You must

have formed some ideas. I have a few ideas but they do not have a

plan. I do not want to pretend that I have things that do not exist.

Talking to a few people when you're just an observer, it is not at all

the same thing as talking to people when you have such a responsibility.

The argument that people are dying is absolutely true. People are

dying. Some people even say you were responsible for the deaths

because you have not managed to from day one. I wish it were

possible. It does not work that way. Syria is a civil war. You have

already called it that, a sectarian war, a proxy war, a new Cold War.

It is an awful lot. It is extremely difficult to fix. A situation like

this is not standard. -- static. It is never static. If he does not

improve it gets worse. Everyone says they want all the regional

players want peace. They are all involved in perpetuating the war.

The government in Damascus says the rebels have been warned -- arms by

Saudi Arabia and Turkey. They were not lay down their arms until those

channels are closed. The opposition says that Russia and Iran are

arming President Assad. There seems to be the trend. No situation is

tragic. The trend is for greater militarisation. The UN would call

on all of those who were arming parties to stop doing so. As media

tours you can have only repeat this. People are angry with Kofi Annan.

The government say it is our right, we have the monopoly on the use of

force. The opposition says they are being massacred. How can we tell

them to accept the slaughter. I understand that position. When they

accept a political situation is much better. It is an existential

battle. Kill or be killed is the driving force. It is not about

killing. It has been going on for Syria for 50 years. What people

call a mosaic of communities was incredibly harmonious. People have

multiple identities. They took their Syrian identity first. I

refuse to believe that they are going to get that. I refuse to

believe that they would go back to narrow identities. They will find

it indispensable to kill. As you start this, whether it is Mission

impossible, or you're a tough assignment yet, let us finish with,

they must have been something that you saw that you could do to turn

this around. What is it that made you decide to take on the job?

made me decide to take on the job is, perhaps a little bit of vanity.

Perhaps an excessive sense of duty. I knew perfectly well that the

United Nations cannot stay away from a problem like this. If they

asked me to help, who am I to say no? That is what has led me here.

Once again, I know how difficult it is. I know how nearly impossible

Liz's -- his ears. I am not here to try and win another battle for

myself. Les is totally unimportant. What is important is the victory.

If I can help a little bit and I think it was worth the risks.

We may have enjoyed the wettest summer for something like 100 years.

Better weather prospects on offer for September. For the first half

we are looking at mainly dry conditions with sunny spells. The

north and west of the British Isles will be windy with some showers

around. A close look at things. Across southern counties of England

the remnants of an all weather front will give us a cloudy start

to the day. Things will brighten up quickly with better prospects. A

lot more sunshine later on to the day. The service guy is not far off.

Plenty of sunshine. Further west there will be some cloud. A few

light showers. Nothing too untoward. In Northern Irelandwill be brighter

with some hazy sunshine. Around the Bristol Channel there will be some

thicker cloud. In Cornwall we will see some mist and fog. Through the

rest of Monday the cloud breaks up across most of southern England. It

may be sudden across the south-west. Strength in the wind developing

through the afternoon. It will blow a band of Wendy into western

Scotland. For most of us a fine day. Temperatures getting into the low

to mid-twenties. Highs of 26 degrees. Monday night will be windy.

Severe Gale severe pain. -- developing. Gusts of 60mph getting

up to 70mph. A band of clouds pushing southwards. A few spots of

rain. My series will have a reasonable day. Through Wednesday,

Thursday and Friday, a big area of high pressure. The weather fronts

will never be two far away from Scotland. A few showers in the

Highlands of Scotland. Most other day is a -- other areas will have a

reasonable day. Through Thursday and Friday we keep the dry weather