Noting the past failed Geneva II Syria peace effort, which collapsed two years ago, de Mistura said the approach this time would be different – by holding rolling proximity talks over six months and cancelling any high-profile opening ceremony.
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It will be the third major attempt to end a conflict that has killed more than 260,000 people since it began in March 2011. Since the last peace conference was held in early 2014, Islamic State fighters have declared a caliphate across much of Syria and Iraq, and the war has drawn in world powers.
The Syrian government and its allies have made significant gains against rebels in recent weeks. Turkey, one of the main backers of the anti-Assad rebellion, is against including the Kurds.
As said by the Latakia Governor Ibrahim Khder al Saleem, with the support of the friendly Russian aviation, the government forces had been able to take the city under their control. De Mistura has the final say on what parties were asked to participate in the talks, which seek and political transition ending with a new constitution and elections within 18 months. “It is an worldwide resolution at least part of which must be implemented, so we see there is seriousness and good will in this matter”, al-Muslat said told Saudi-owned Arabic news channel Arabiya al-Hadath.
Kerry told the Committee’s chief Riad Hijab that they risked “losing friends”, Aliko said. These pressures are represented in pushing our delegation to head to the talks without any clear agenda, plus giving up the goodwill measures mainly addressing the humanitarian situation which has nothing to do with politics. “If they are not serious, war will continue”.
“I told them you have a veto, and so does he and so you’re going to have to decide how to move forward”, he said.
United Nations envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura says he hopes to convene peace talks between Syrian government and opposition members Friday in Geneva, but the process has been facing serious challenges because of disagreements over who should be invited and the future of Syria’s president. “This year will be the year of victory for Syria because of the heroic acts and sacrifices by its army and people”. Assad’s advisers have stated that he will go to the talks merely “to listen, but not to negotiate”, Middle East experts Joshua Landis and Steven Simon noted in Foreign Policy.
A suicide bomber driving a fuel truck targeted a checkpoint run by the rebel group Ahrar al Sham, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“The small guerrilla operations have begun”.
The Syrian military, its morale running high, is planning the next phase of its offensive in northern Syria. Of course, two of the most powerful groups – ISIS and the al-Nusra Front – won’t be at the meeting and would nearly certainly not agree with anything put forth there, anyway.
Kerry also downplayed comments from the Syrian government indicating it would not bend on its positions heading into the talks.
The demonstrations were violently suppressed by Syrian government forces and since then the conflict has escalated into a full-blown civil war with involvement from a range of global actors, including Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran, and Russian Federation on the side of Assad, and Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, the USA and European nations backing the opposition.
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“We want an explanation of that – is it an interim governing authority?” he said, referring to the type of government demanded by the opposition.
