With procedural matters having interfered with the negotiations, the Syria talks in Geneva have been “temporarily halted” until February 25. When selected issues have been resolved, the process will continue, according to UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura.
03 February 2016
Military action in Syria has not been discussed at the talks in Geneva, UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said on Wednesday according to TASS.
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura announced on Wednesday that the Syria talks in Geneva are to be “temporarily halted” until February 25.
The UN official said that he was not frustrated or disappointed with the process, but has to be realistic.
Citing difficulties with select procedural matters for the break in talks, de Mistura said he remained determined to continue with the negotiations.
Countries backing the talks will be asked to meet again immediately to resolve the issues, he added.
The announcement came following a meeting with the opposition delegation.
“I have concluded frankly that after the first week of preparatory talks there is more work to be done, not only by us but by the stakeholders," the UN envoy told reporters, adding that the talks are not being undertaken “for the sake of talking.”
02 February 2016
UN Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura didn’t exclude the possibility that the peace talks could fail.
Speaking to Swiss television channel RTS he said complete failure is “always possible, particularly after five years of a horrible war, where the sides hate each other, where there is a huge lack of confidence.”
However, he urged to make all efforts to resolve the conflict politically.
"If there is a failure this time after we tried twice at conferences in Geneva, for Syria there will be no more hope. We must absolutely try to ensure that there is no failure."
He added that Russia and the United States both had an interest in stopping the five year war.
UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura has said that "concrete" changes are needed in order for the peace talks to succeed. He said that the talks were a challenge as trust between both sides was "close to zero".
"The test of whether these talks are going to be serious will be... if something changes on the ground while we are doing talks," he told the BBC in Geneva. "We need something concrete. Otherwise, we, the UN, will be the first one to say 'thank you, but we are looking for something concrete here'.
Syrian opposition negotiator Mohamed Alloush, representing Jaysh al-Islam (Army of islam), which is considered to be a terrorist group by Damascus and Moscow, said that he was not optimistic about the prospects for peace talks. "Nothing has changed in the situation on the ground so as long as the situation is like this we are not optimistic," he told reporters.
The participation of Kurds in the Syrian peace negotiations is still being discussed, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov after bilateral talks with Syria’s warring sides in Geneva. He said that UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura promised to keep “working on official invitations” to the Kurdish delegation, despite their participation being rejected by Turkey. Gatilov added that he hopes that Kurdish representatives will take part in the talks in the future.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said speaking to reporters in Geneva that the Syrian opposition is not unified and cannot “determine who will be representing them.”
“This is an important factor, because, politically, a lot will depend on the composition of the delegation,” he said.
Therefore, the stalling of the negotiation process and the “unconstructive position” of the Syrian opposition may look like an “intention to block the start of negotiations," he added.
De Mistura is scheduled to hold a meeting with the opposition to clarify its members in the delegation, Gatilov said adding that “it’s possible that the list will be incomplete, and with time these vacant positions will be taken by other representatives.”
He hinted that there might be a possibility that the talks will take longer that the six months which were set by the UN. He also expressed hope that the Munich Security Conference which is to take place later in February will give an “impulse” to the intra-Syrian negotiations.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told reporters in Geneva that he held a meeting with the Syrian opposition and with other partners, who are taking part in the talks.
The Syrian opposition said it will not attend the meeting with the UN envoy scheduled for the afternoon, AFP reported. The UN office of the Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has confirmed that it has no more meetings planned for the day.
The participation of members associated with the Jaysh Al-Islam (Army of Islam) and Ahrar Al-Sham (the Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant) in the “proximity talks” in Geneva does not mean the groups’ official recognition, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after talks with his UAE counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Lavrov said that they are participating to make sure the decision taken during the talks Syria’s future is based on a “realistic approach.”
"We have reached an agreement (and the government delegation agreed with this) that these people, if they take part in the negotiation processes, will do so in their personal capacity, that they will accept all the requirements of Resolution 2254 of the UN Security Council,” he said. "The participation in their personal capacity does not mean - and this is accepted by all, including the US - these groups' recognition as negotiating partners."
"That's our stance, just as the stance of many other members of the Syrian Support Group who regard these groups as terrorists,” he added.
Damascus said it’s early to begin indirect talks in Geneva as the list of the opposition’s negotiating team hasn’t been provided yet.
"The circumstances on the formalities are not yet ready. We are in the preparatory stage before the official launch of indirect negotiations," Syria's Bashar al-Jaafari told reporters.
"To prepare the official launch we have to have the presence of the two delegations, but on the other side the delegation has not been finalized," he said after a meeting with UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura which lasted over two hours.
A Syrian opposition group is uncertain whether it will attend a meeting with UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura later in the day due to Russia’s anti-Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS, ISIL) military campaign.
"It is clear from the current situation that the regime and its allies - in particular Russia - are determined to reject the UN's efforts to implement international law," Salim al-Muslat, spokesman for the opposition High Negotiation Committee (HNC) told reporters. "The regime's and Russia's actions gravely threaten the political process at this early stage," he added.
01 February 2016
The UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura told reporters after meeting a Syrian opposition delegation on Monday that it was not his role to discuss ceasefires at peace negotiations in Geneva. He called on Syria’s local powers to immediately begin negotiations on how to enforce them.
Commenting on the humanitarian issues, he said that if Damascus released women and children prisoners it would be a "signal that something is happening."
The UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has announced the official start of peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition leaders in Geneva. Mistura has excluded the possibility of setting preconditions for the peace talks.
He said that the main objective for now is to keep the indirect talks going and he announced that his meeting with Damascus representatives was scheduled for Tuesday.
31 January 2016
The Syrian opposition said the Sunday’s meeting with the UN envoy had been “very positive,” particularly regarding discussions on the humanitarian situation.
“Today’s meeting was very positive with Mr. de Mistura,” the group’s spokesman told reporters. “Things are encouraging and positive concerning humanitarian issues. There will be another meeting tomorrow.”
Mohamed Alloush, who represents Jaish al-Islam (Islam Army), a rebel militant group, told Reuters he was heading to Geneva to take part in the talks.
He said that Damascus “has not implemented any measure of the goodwill steps,” adding that his presence was necessary at the talks “to show the world who is the terrorist who destroyed the country and displaced its people in documents and figures.”
The group operates in the eastern Ghouta district of Damascus and has killed civilians in its attacks on the capital. It is considered a terrorist organization by Damascus and Russia.
Syria’s opposition says that friendly relations with Russia are possible if Moscow discontinues its support of Damascus.
“We want Russia to stop supporting this bloody regime, and start supporting the Syrian people,” Monzer Makhous , a member of the Syrian National Council and spokesman for the opposition delegation, said as quoted by Sputnik news agency.
The terrorist attack in Damascus that killed dozens near a Shiite shrine was aimed at disrupting Syrian peace talks in Geneva, the European Union's Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement.
"The attack near the Sayeda Zeinab shrine is clearly aimed to disrupt the attempts to start a political process," she said.
The full list of the members from the opposition delegation remains unclear for Damascus as well as for the UN, the head of Syria's delegation at peace talks, Bashar al-Jaafari, told reporters.
He also criticized the opposition for a lack of “seriousness and responsibility” referring to the delegation’s delayed attendance at Geneva, as well as setting preconditions to the talks.
Bashar al-Jaafari branded some of the opposition delegation terrorists backed by foreign powers, adding that the negations started with repeating the same mistake that occurred in Geneva-2 in 2014.
“When the Security Council resolution states that the broadest possible spectrum of the position be brought together by the Syrians themselves, and this resolution is being violated, then it means that there are some who want to impose a fait accompli by selectivity and double standards,” he said.
Damascus considers it to be “very important” to discuss the topics of humanitarian corridors, ceasefires and prisoner releases in Geneva, according to Bashar al-Jaafari, the head of Syria's delegation at the peace talks.
The Syrian opposition is free to leave peace talks if their terms are not met, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Riyadh.
"We asked the opposition that they can put their conditions to start the negotiations and continue the negotiations. They can leave anytime if they are not implemented," he said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry urged the various sides to negotiate a political solution to the Syrian crisis as it would undercut support for Islamic State militants (IS, previously ISIS,ISIL).
"In the end, there is no military solution to the conflict," Kerry said in a statement. He added that the conflict could engulf the whole Middle East if no political settlement was reached.
He also said that urgent steps to increase food aid and other humanitarian assistance must be taken.
If the Syrian government and its allies “continue to escalate the bombing campaign” in rebel-held areas and “hamper delivery of humanitarian aid to besieged areas,” the delegation of the Saudi-backed opposition may walk out, Riyad Hijab, coordinator of the Riyadh-formed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) of the Syrian opposition, was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Without putting an end to these “violations,” there would be “no justification” for the main opposition delegation to remain in Geneva, Hijab said.
Sunday's bomb attacks in Damascus, which have claimed at least 45 lives, serve to prove that the Syrian opposition has links to terrorism, said the head of the Syrian government delegation in Geneva, Bashar Jaafari. The diplomat holds the position of Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the UN.
The meeting between members of the opposition and the UN envoy to Syria focused on mostly humanitarian aid to citizens and improvement of living conditions on the ground.
“We only came to Geneva after receiving assurances and commitments and we have precise commitments on the fact there would be serious progress on the humanitarian situation,” Reuters cited Bassma Kodmani, a member of the opposition's negotiating delegation, as saying. "We can't start political negotiations until we have those gestures [in place],” Kodmani added.
Staffan de Mistura has finished meeting with the delegation from the Syrian opposition, saying that he remains “optimistic” about the outcome of the peace talks. The beginning of the talks has been “useful,” de Mistura said, adding that he has paid the necessary “visit of courtesy” and listened to the opposition’s concerns.
The delegation of the Syrian opposition formed in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, is holding talks with the UN Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, Monzer Makhous, a member of the Syrian National Council and spokesman for the opposition delegation, confirmed to Sputnik.
No indirect talks will start until the Damascus government fulfills its obligations under resolution 2254 of the UN Security Council, the secretary of the opposition delegation said.
On December 18, 2015, all 15 members of the UNSC unanimously adopted Resolution 2254 (2015) “Endorsing Road Map for Peace Process in Syria.” “The Syrian people will decide the future of Syria,” the text stated. At the same time, the members of the UNSC had declared major differences over the future of the Syrian leader, President Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian opposition delegation's spokesman, Riyad Naasan Agha, decried allegations that his delegation had issued any 48-hour ultimatums to the government. "This is not so," Riyad Naasan Agha told TASS on Sunday. The opposition’s delegation consists of about 40 people now that will take part in the negotiations on a rotation basis. “Someone will come again, someone will leave, the process will be under way,” he explained.
The government of President Bashar Assad will “never accept” the removal of militant groups Ahrar al-Sham (Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant) and the Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) from the list of terrorist organizations barred from participation in the Geneva peace talks, Associated Press cited Syria’s Information Minister Omar al-Zoubi as saying on state TV late Saturday. Both the Syrian government and Russia view both groups as terrorist organizations and equate them with Islamic State and Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, the Al Nusra Front, both of which are banned from the talks.
Former Syrian Premier Riyad Hijab, coordinator of the Riyadh-formed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) of the Syrian opposition, is not going to take part in the Geneva talks. He issued an online statement in Arabic, claiming: “If the regime insists on continuing to commit its crimes, then the HNC delegation's presence in Geneva will not be justified.”
“The delegation will inform [UN peace envoy Staffan] de Mistura of its intentions to withdraw its negotiating team if the UN and world powers are unable to stop the violations,” Al Jazeera quoted Hijab as saying.
UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura has expressed hope that he will manage to hold separate meetings with delegations from both the Syrian government and the opposition “before February 1.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry held one final pre-Geneva talks phone conversation, TASS reports. The diplomats agreed that at the initial stage of the negotiations, all sides must concentrate on settling humanitarian issues in the war-torn country, i.e. delivery of humanitarian supplies to besieged territories with disrupted supply lines - and only then get to political reforms and elections.