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Former Slovenian president still "optimistic" about race for UN top job

Xinhua, September 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Slovenia's former President Danilo Turk said Thursday he is "still optimistic" to succeed in becoming the next UN secretary-general after three rounds of "straw votes."

"I believe we (all candidates) are still at the level of tactical considerations and the third round of election was the typical example of that," Turk told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

"I am optimistic because after a period of experimentation, members will have to come together and seriously think who among the candidates they want," he added.

He said the next round of votes will be much more important but still not produce the final picture because usually discussions based on straw polls take a few weeks or even a few months.

Turk fell to the eighth place in the latest straw poll vote at the UN Security Council on Monday, receiving five "encourage" votes, six "discourage" votes while four members of the Security Council opted for "no opinion."

Regarding future votes, he hoped to talk to all members of the Security Council again, permanent members in particular. Endit