Feb 4, 2016, 11:57 AM

Pause in Syria peace talks in Geneva

Pause in Syria peace talks in Geneva

GENEVA, Feb. 04 (MNA) – The United Nations special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, announced that the dialogue to end the conflict in the Levantine country will be in a temporary pause, until February 25.

According to the facilitator of the talks between the government and the opposition, no face-to-face meetings are foreseen yet, the pause responds to the need for the parties to come to the table committed to changing the situation on the Syrian people, the main victim of five years of fighting.

At a press conference, he insisted that the talks, which began on Friday, responded to a Security Council resolution and "it can not be to talk for the sake of it".

De Mistura stated the government delegation is pointing procedural issues before discussing the humanitarian issue, set by the High Negotiation Committee (HNC) as a determining issue.

The HNC threatened in recent days to withdraw from the dialogue if the Government and its allies, including Russia do not stop their offensive and the troops of Damascus do not lift the siege to towns under rebel control.

Syria rejects the opposition's position, as it is considered a manipulation of the humanitarian issue in favor of those who from the outside (the West and regional powers like Saudi Arabia and Turkey) support to the armed groups to impose a regime change in the Levantine country.

Our entire nation is beset by economic sanctions and terrorists, warned the head of the government delegation, Syrian ambassador to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, who reiterated as a priority the eradication of terrorism to alleviate humanitarian suffering and create conditions for talks without foreign interference.

De Mistura stated he is not frustrated or disappointed by the need to set a pause in the talks called Geneva III, referring to previous meetings to try to end the conflict.

"I have been long enough in the UN to know that when there is a five-year war we must be firm, but also realistic", he said.

 

hr/ycf/rc/wmr

PL-79/MNA

 

News ID 114155

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