No Syria peace talks in coming weeks: UN envoy
United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura says there are no plans for the resumption of the new round of peace talks on the crisis in Syria over the next two or three weeks.
Diplomats said de Mistura told a closed session of the UN Security Council on Thursday that more progress was required to strengthen a ceasefire in Syria and deliver humanitarian aid before the negotiations can resume.
Earlier in the day, the UN mediator said he would announce the date for the peace talks after consulting the 15-member council.
For the discussions to be credible, there needs to be “credible ground, based on humanitarian improvement and on cessation of hostilities improvement and stabilization,” the UN envoy stated.
The latest round of the UN-brokered indirect negotiations between Syria’s warring sides began in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 13, aimed at putting an end to more than five years of conflict in the country.
However, the talks were brought to a halt after the main foreign-backed opposition group, known as the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), walked out of the discussions to protest at what it called the Syrian government’s violation of a shaky ceasefire.
Damascus dismissed the accusation, saying the truce was violated by foreign-backed militants.
The nation-wide cessation of hostilities, brokered by Moscow and Washington, was introduced in February in a bid to facilitate dialogue between rival parties in Syria.
However, renewed violence in recent weeks in some parts of Syria, especially the northwestern city of Aleppo, has left the ceasefire in tatters.
Recently, local regimes of silence have been enforced in several areas of the country.
According to de Mistura, over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict that has gripped Syria since March 2011.
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