UN diplomats say the Security Council has given a green light to the appointment of Nikolay Mladenov as the UN's top Mideast envoy, replacing Robert Serry.
Two council diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations were private, said Wednesday there were no objections to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's appointment of Mladenov by the deadline Tuesday night.
Mladenov, 42, has been the top UN envoy in Iraq since August 2013. He served in the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009 and was Bulgaria's foreign minister from 2010 to 2013.
Serry, a veteran Dutch diplomat, has been the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process and Ban's personal representative to the Palestinian Authority since November 2007. He is also the secretary-general's envoy to the so-called Quartet of Middle East mediators.