UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura has told all parties present at the Syria peace talks being held in Geneva that several more rounds of negotiations would be needed before any manner of accord is reached.
De Mistura made the announcement on the fourth day of the current talks on Sunday.
He added that by the end of the current session both the Syrian government and the foreign-backed militant groups “would have a deeper shared understanding of how we can proceed in future rounds.”
Meanwhile, the main Syrian opposition group has accused the Syrian government of trying to stall the talks, after Syria’s Ambassador to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari called on all parties to condemn a deadly attack in Homs or be considered “accomplices of terrorism.”
On Saturday, simultaneous bombings targeted separate areas across the western city of Homs — which is largely under government control — claiming the lives of over 50 people. The Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorist group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, claimed responsibility for the attacks.
“Jaafari is stalling, they don’t want to start the political transition,” said Salem al-Meslet, the spokesman for the High Negotiations Committee (HNC).
The new round of the UN-brokered intra-Syrian talks come shortly after the conclusion of the second round of the Syria peace negotiations, mediated by Russia, Turkey and Iran, in the Kazakh capital city of Astana on February 15 and 16. Astana talks, which were held in a closed-door setting, sought to pave the way for the negotiations in Geneva.
Source: Websites
