DAMASCUS, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The UN new special envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi is expected to set foot in Syria within the next week, the Syrian Foreign Ministry Spokesman said on Saturday.
Jihad Makdissi made the remarks during an interview with the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV on Saturday evening, in which he said that "Brahimi will come within the next week, and he will listen to us and we will listen to him."
Makdissi said that Brahimi's office in Damascus would comprise of 40 personnel.
The spokesman comments came one day after the UN appointed Mokhtar Lamani of Canada as Head of the Office of Brahimi, according to a UN statement obtained by Xinhua Friday.
The statement said "Mr Lamani brings a wealth of experience to this role, having held a wide range of diplomatic position".
Brahimi replaced the outgoing Kofi Annan, who resigned last month after his efforts had been rendered flat.
Syria said repeatedly that it welcomes Brahimi and pledged that it will cooperate with him in order to draw an end to the 18- months-old crisis.
Meanwhile, Makdissi said his country has presented much facilitation to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) , adding that Syria accepted the proposition of the ICRC to receive physicians specialized with conflict circumstances.
Asked to comment about the calls for imposing a buffer zone on Syria, Makdissi said that any attempt to impose a buffer zone on Syria will be considered as an aggression "and we will practice our rights."
He said militarization of the crisis is not in anyone's interest.
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