WASHINGTON: Veteran journalist Christiane Amanpour will return to the anchor chair at CNN International while continuing to work with US network ABC television, CNN announced Tuesday.

Amanpour, who left CNN last year to become host of ABC's “This Week,” will remain a global affairs anchor for ABC News under a “unique arrangement,” CNN Worldwide President Jim Walton said.

Walton did not immediately disclose terms of the arrangement bringing back its long-time star reporter to a nightly news format.

“Christiane Amanpour has been synonymous with international reporting and with CNN for many years,” Walton said. “We could not be happier that through this unique arrangement with ABC News her experience and global perspective are returning to a nightly news broadcast for our international audience.”

British-born Amanpour, 53, voiced enthusiasm about the change, in a brief statement. “This role is groundbreaking, bold and very different! I am thrilled and honored,” she said.

Amanpour, daughter of an Iranian airline executive and a British woman, first became known to the CNN audience internationally for her coverage of the 1991 Gulf War that followed Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

She has interviewed many of the world's leaders and newsmakers over the past two decades and reported from hotspots such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Rwanda and the Balkans.