The new assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, Anne Patterson, says her area of responsibility “looks like a mess” but that breakthroughs on Iran or the Israeli-Palestinian peace process would “change the chessboard” and “create a much better situation” throughout the region.

In her first interview since she was confirmed in her new post this month, Patterson, a plainspoken former ambassador to Egypt, Pakistan, El Salvador and Colombia whose voice retains an Arkansas twang after four decades in the Foreign Service, said “no one expected” quick results from the Geneva II talks on Syria and that UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi should be given more time.

Besides dealing with the Syrian civil war, Patterson said her top priorities are Iran and North Africa, especially Libya, and that she will also focus on promoting trade and economic development in countries such as Egypt to address the root causes of instability in nations undergoing political upheaval.

Excerpts from her interview at the State Department late Tuesday, Jan. 28, with Al-Monitor's Washington correspondent Barbara Slavin follow.