“We have not had those substantive talks”, Syrian opposition delegate Basma Kodmani said.
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High Negotiations Committee head Asaad al-Zoabi (L) listens to Chief opposition negotiator Mohammed …
Ja’afari told her he wanted the European Union to reopen its embassies and lift sanctions on Damascus, but said that while his team would return for a second round of talks in Geneva, he had told United Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura they could not come back before Syrian elections on April 13.
(Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP).
Staffan de Mistura, UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, speaks to the media during a press conference after a round of negotiations between the Syrian opposition and the UN, at the European headq…
The U.N.’s Syria envoy on Thursday set April 9 as a “target date” for indirect peace talks to resume in Geneva, saying he is encouraged by the fact that “no breakdowns, no walkouts” tripped up the latest and most substantial round of talks.
And he admitted “there is no common vision on the question of political transition”.
The document also noted women’s equality of rights and representation at a level of at least 30 percent during the transition and thereafter; the political transition mechanisms for credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance; an environment of stability and calm during the transition; continuity and reform of state institutions and public services; along with measures to protect the public infrastructure and private property.
In Geneva, the peace talks involving Assad’s government and his foes which began this month are expected to adjourn until April.
In Moscow, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he sees no political future for Syria’s longtime president, pointing to 250,000 deaths and millions of refugees caused by the five-year civil war.
She clarified that the threats that encounter Europe and other regions in the world are linked to the presence of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, adding that confronting this threat in an active way requires a collective work among all states to end the crisis in Syria.
“If this process is to be successful, if it is to be oriented towards a political solution of the Syria conflict, we must keep up our engagement and, if necessary, our joint pressure on the conflict parties”, he said.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the army had advanced into the hotel district just to the southwest of the city and reached a residential area, after a rapid advance the day before brought the army and its allies right up to its outskirts.
But de Mistura made clear that the United Nations would not take into consideration any polls organised by President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
Syrian pro-government forces were poised on Wednesday to launch an assault to retake the ancient city of Palmyra from militants, as Washington sought to inject new momentum into flagging peace talks.
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“When we say that the dialogue must be between Syrians, without outside intervention, this also applies to the Russians and Americans”, Bashar al-Jaafari told AFP in an interview. “The government continues to flout global resolutions”, Zoubi said.
